Principal co-investigators Christopher Cunniff, MD, professor, and John Meaney, PhD, research associate professor with the UA department of pediatrics, and co-investigator Sydney Pettygrove, PhD, epidemiologist in the UA College of Public Health, are leading the "Arizona Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program."
"We will be reviewing the records of more than 4,000 children within Maricopa County to determine the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders and mental retardation in that region," Dr. Cunniff said. "It will give us accurate data about the characteristics of children who have these developmental disabilities."
"We will be able to document whether autism is indeed increasing, decreasing, or staying the same," Dr. Meaney said.
The other nine sites include Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri/Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wisconsin. The sites are part of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network that will provide comparable, population-based estimates of the number of children who have autism and related disorders in different sites over time.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are lifelong developmental disabilities characterized by repetitive behaviors and social and communication problems. ASD include autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS, including atypical autism), and Asperger disorder. Individuals with ASD have significant impairments in social and communication skills, and unusual behaviors or interests. ASD begins during childhood and lasts throughout a person's life.
"Eventually, we hope to come to a point where we can possibly intervene with caregivers and pediatricians and give them information about how better to diagnose children in the early stages of autism and perhaps improve their outcomes," Dr. Cunniff said.
