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Developmental Disabilities |
Johns Hopkins Center for Autism and
Developmental Disabilities Epidemiology
The Johns Hopkins Center for Autism and
Developmental Disabilities Epidemiology is the CADDRE site studying ASDs in
Maryland and Delaware. The areas in Maryland included in the project are
Baltimore City and the following counties: Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil,
Harford and Howard. The entire state of Delaware is also included.
To achieve its goals, the center has four
core activities:
1. Monitoring activities
Currently, we do not know how many children living in Maryland and Delaware
have an ASD. We do know that during the 2002–2003 school year, 278 children
ages 3–11 years in Delaware and 2,308 children ages 3–11 years in Maryland
were classified as having autism under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA). IDEA is the federal law that supports special
education and related services for children and youth with disabilities.
However, there are additional children with ASDs who are classified in
other disability categories under IDEA or who do not receive special
education services.
The center will use multiple sources to
obtain a more accurate estimate of the number of children in the study area
with an ASD. The center will study whether ASDs are more common in some
groups of children than in others and whether the number of children with
ASDs is changing over time. The monitoring activities will focus on
children 8 years old. The center anticipates posting the results of the
2000 study year on its Web site by the end of 2004.
2. National CADDRE Study
The center will work with the other CADDRE programs to find causes of ASDs
or factors that make it more likely that a child will have an ASD. Families
who take part in the study will answer survey questions; children with ASDs
will be tested, and staff will look at children’s birth records.
Approximately 2,000 children aged 3–5 years and their parents are expected
to be included in the combined centers study. Children with ASDs will be
compared with a random sample of liked aged children, and a sample of
children with other neurodevelopmental impairments.
3. Special Studies
The center is interested in studying interactions between genetic and
environmental factors and their role in causing ASDs. Currently the center
is studying several candidate susceptibility genes using samples maintained
by the Autism Genetics Research Exchange (AGRE). The ongoing Investigating
Developmental DElays Study (IDDES) serves as a pilot study for the CADDRE
case-cohort study and also will allow comparison of the performance of two
screening questionnaires for diagnosing ASDs and collection of data on the
steps parents in our study area typically go through in obtaining an autism
diagnosis for their child. The center is also about to field its first
survey of developmental and ASD screening practices among area
pediatricians. A grant from the National Institutes of Health is funding a
pilot collaboration between the center and Peking University to determine
how best to study ASD epidemiology in China.
4. Sharing Information
The center plans to share what is learned from these studies through
mailings targeted to key audiences, news releases to the lay and
professional media, sponsored symposia on ASDs, scientific publications and
the center’s Web site which includes information about ongoing activities,
links to information for parents, educators and clinicians, as well as
links to resources for ASDs and other developmental disabilities.
For further information, please contact:
Center for Autism and Developmental
Disabilities Epidemiology (CADDE)
Johns Hopkins University
Bloomberg School of Public Health
615 N Wolfe St, Room E6039
Baltimore, MD 21205
Phone: (877) 868-8014
Fax: (410) 502-6652
E-mail: cadde@jhsph.edu
Web: www.jhsph.edu/cadde
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Date: October 29, 2004
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities
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