Utah researchers receive $2.4 million federal grant to track children with autism in the state

From The Salt Lake Tribune:

The true number of Utah children who have autism -- and why their ranks are growing -- is going to be clearer.

Utah researchers have been awarded a federal grant to continue their work tracking the number of children who have the communication disorder.

"We know the number [of children with] autism are increasing but we don't know why," said Judith Zimmerman, a research assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Utah School of Medicine and one of the study's principal investigators.

"This data will help us figure out, is autism really increasing, or are there other factors contributing to the amount of change?" she said.

The U. received a $2.4 million, four-year grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a member of the federal Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, it was one of 11 national centers awarded funds.

It will use the money to analyze medical and education records of children born in 2002 and 2004, determining whether they met the definition of having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at age 8. Children are usually diagnosed by that age.

Investigators will review about 10,000 records of children in special education classes and those who have been diagnosed with language disorders and others, such as obsessive compulsive disorder. Zimmerman said the records, from Salt Lake, Davis and Tooele counties, do not include patient names.

The new money builds on the tracking already taking place in Utah.

Zimmerman's research group previously established that Utah has the third-highest rate of autism in 14 sites studied by the CDC among children born in 1994. The Utah numbers increased 20-fold in 20 years, to 1 child in 133.

The jump is explained in part by broader definitions and better diagnoses for ASDs. Although the specific causes of autism and related disorders aren't known, research, including work done at the U., has implicated a number of genes. Researchers also suspect environmental factors.

The new funding also will allow the U. to look at the prevalence of ASDs among 4-year-olds in Tooele County and in Salt Lake City and Granite school districts.

"One of the concerns is that children are not being diagnosed as early as possible," Zimmerman said.

Tracking the 4-year-olds as they grow older will help them understand long-term outcomes. Research has shown early intervention can mitigate some of the communication problems associated with ASDs.