The Pathways in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) cohort study - Examining how child and youth health, education and community services are integrated to support optimal trajectories of developmental health
With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) becoming more common, it is more urgent than ever to understand how services offered by health practitioners, educators, behavioural therapists and in the community can be combined to provide the best care to children and youth with ASD. The Pathways Study is the largest study of children with ASD in the world following 421 children at five Canadian sites from pre-school years to adulthood. Functional outcomes and use of services have been studied separately to date and a striking gap remains in understanding which types of services best support optimal outcomes. Similarly, understanding how parents view and value ASD services has not been fully studied. The present proposal addresses the following questions: 1.Do sustained behavioural interventions contribute to better outcomes as children age? 2.Which combination of health, behavioural, educational, social and community services are associated with better functioning? 3.What factors affect the association between service use and improved outcomes related to the child, the family, and the environment? 4.What are parents' perceptions of ASD services and how do they value ASD services? Using methods that analyse change over time, this study will examine the relationship between services and functional outcomes in children with ASD from diagnosis to age 11. The effects of age at diagnosis, sex, baseline IQ and language skills will be tested. Differences in provincial policies affecting service type and availability will also be examined. As important as the breadth of services for children with ASD are parents' views and values regarding these services. The Pathways database creates a unique opportunity to determine the types of services that contribute the most to optimal outcomes. This proposal is consistent with the CIHR's objective to advance knowledge in child health.
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)
Autism Research Database (AFD)
