ABSTRACT
The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED), a multisite investigation addressing knowledge gaps in autism phenotype and etiology, aims to: (1) characterize the autism behavioral phenotype and associated developmental, medical, and behavioral conditions and (2) investigate genetic and environmental risks with emphasis on immunologic, hormonal, gastrointestinal, and sociodemographic characteristics. SEED uses a case-control design with population-based ascertainment of children aged 2-5 years with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children in two control groups-one from the general population and one with non-ASD developmental problems. Data from parent-completed questionnaires, interviews, clinical evaluations, biospecimen sampling, and medical record abstraction focus on the prenatal and early postnatal periods. SEED is a valuable resource for testing hypotheses regarding ASD characteristics and causes.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/epidemiology , Developmental Disabilities/epidemiology , Autistic Disorder/etiology , Autistic Disorder/psychology , Case-Control Studies , Child, Preschool , Developmental Disabilities/etiology , Developmental Disabilities/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Parents , Phenotype , Prevalence , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Given a rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), this project aimed to develop and pilot test various teacher nomination strategies to identify children at risk for ASD in a timely, reliable, cost-effective manner. Sixty participating elementary school teachers evaluated 1323 children in total. Each teacher nominated students who most fit a description of ASD-associated characteristics, and completed the Autism Syndrome Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) on every child in the classroom. The proportion of overall agreement between teacher nomination and ASSQ was 93-95%, depending upon the nomination parameters. Nomination required 15 min per class versus 3.5-5.5 h per class for the ASSQ. These results support the need for further study of teacher nomination strategies to identify children at risk for ASD.
