Project Timeframe: 2006 to 2015

SEED is a ground-breaking study to help identify genetic and environmental factors that place children at risk for developing Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and other developmental disabilities. In the largest study of its kind to date, 2,700 children and their parents from California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania are taking part. In the fall of 2007, IAI staff began collaborating with researchers and the California Department of Public Health to recruit 450 children between the ages of 2 and 5 and their families to take part in the California component of SEED. The study will look at a broad range of factors including characteristics of the pregnancy, birth and newborn period. Funding was approved for a second phase of the SEED project, and recruitment began in the Summer of 2012. IAI staff are providing environmental epidemiology and health education expertise to the California component. The study is being conducted in Alameda and Santa Clara Counties.