Grant: Operating Grant

The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) include autistic disorder (AD), Asperger syndrome (AS), and PDDNOS and affect roughly 1 in 165 children. Based on prevalence, cost of services, reduced quality of life and outcome, the ASD's represent a major public health problem for Canada and research is urgently needed to develop cost-effective interventions in the middle childhood years. To facilitate that research, it is imperative to understand the different developmental pathways that ASD children follow and to identify predictors of good outcome that can be used to develop new intervention programs. We have recently finished collecting data on a study of developmental pathways of ASD children from the point of diagnosis until the end of grade 1. In this application (Phase II) we propose to continue the investigation of the developmental pathways of children with ASD and their families by collecting additional information from grade 2 to grade 5 using many of the same measures but also some new ones as well. Our general hypothesis is that in some children, the improvements seen in social and communication competence and family well-being we saw prior to school entry will begin to slow down or decrease as the stresses of school accumulate. Similarly, clinically significant problems in mental health will begin to increase. We also wish to obtain baseline estimates of school achievement and adaptation so that we can start to chart this outcome into adolescence and eventually adulthood. Parents of children with ASD are desperate to know their child's future and what they can do to maximize the chances of a good outcome. Right now, we can tell them very little about the factors associated with optimal outcomes. This project was designed to fill important evidence gaps on the developmental pathways of children with ASD and to help clinicians, parents and policy makers understand the unique needs of this population of vulnerable children.