# Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) Follow up Studies, Components A, B, D & E

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $1,198,320

## Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts approximately 1.5% of children
in the United States. Individuals with ASD experience deficits in social communication or restricted interests and
repetitive behavior; but the severity and patterns vary greatly and convey lifelong impairment for some. It is
unclear how the presentation of ASD changes from early childhood into adolescence or adulthood. The causes
of ASD are also unknown, though substantial evidence supports the contribution of both genes and
environmental factors. These gaps in knowledge exist because US studies to date have lacked the sample size,
depth of data collection, or appropriate life course timing to address these questions. The Study to Explore Early
Development (SEED) is now able to address these prior limitations. SEED is a large case-control study of
children ages 2-5 years and their families, implemented across eight states over three phases. SEED collected
detailed data on children’s core ASD symptoms, cognitive status, and presence of co-occurring conditions in
early childhood, along with extensive risk factors related to maternal health and the perinatal environment as
well as genomics. The SEED sample includes 2044 children with ASD, 1950 children with non-ASD
developmental disabilities (DD), and 2285 population control children (POP), making this the largest etiologic
study of ASD in the US. Recent ancillary studies - the SEED Teen Pilot and SEED COVID studies -- will soon
add data on adolescent health and the consequences of the pandemic, respectively, for some SEED participants.
The work proposed here, SEED Follow-up Studies (SEED FU), will maximize the impact of extant SEED data
through analyses that characterize ASD phenotypes and assess the potential interplay between genetic and
modifiable risk factors. SEED FU will also facilitate new data collection in middle childhood, adolescence and
early adulthood to characterize changes in ASD phenotype across developmental stages, and the associated
health, educational, and service needs across the early life course. These data will further enable prospective
analyses of associations between early life factors and later childhood through early adulthood outcomes.
Studying risk factors in relation to life course phenotypic subgroups may also help elucidate etiologies previously
masked in ASD case-control studies. The Maryland SEED Team in combination with the SEED Network’s
collaborative infrastructure and extensive extant data resources, will ensure the successful implementation of
the SEED FU Study in Maryland and contribute to success across the network. SEED is well-powered for making
significant contributions to our understanding of the complex autism phenotype and identifying factors associated
with ASD risk in the population. The knowledge gained by SEED FU will greatly advance our ability prevent
adverse developmental outcomes and to support individuals with ASD and their families t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10299758
- **Project number:** 1U01DD001297-01
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** M Daniele Fallin
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,198,320
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10299758

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10299758, Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) Follow up Studies, Components A, B, D & E (1U01DD001297-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10299758. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*