# Missouri Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) Follow-Up

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $329,593

## Abstract

Project Summary
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 MO 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 Missouri 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 thei...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10847313
- **Project number:** 5U01DD001289-04
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JOHN N. CONSTANTINO
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $329,593
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10847313

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10847313, Missouri Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) Follow-Up (5U01DD001289-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10847313. Licensed CC0.

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