Families that enroll in the study may have three types of contact with researchers at various times during their enrollment: phone calls, clinic visits, and home visits. The entire family will not need to be present for every visit.
A. Time Commitments
Families will enroll in the study at the start of a pregnancy and remain in the study until the baby’s third birthday. During the pregnancy, data will be collected through home and clinic visits, as well as through phone contact approximately once per month during pregnancy. The data collection becomes less frequent after the delivery with contact at months 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36. Over the course of the three and a half years of involvement, a family can expect to spend approximately 21 hours at home completing assessments, questionnaires, and home visits, and 12 - 17 hours at a study clinic, depending on the assessment needs of individual families.
B. Clinic and Home Visits
Mothers will visit with study staff once per trimester during pregnancy and six times between the baby’s birth and third birthday. The first visit will be to a study clinic for initial assessment and data collection. The subsequent visits during pregnancy will take approximately 45 minutes to two hours each, and, depending on which site you are participating with, will be a combination of home and clinic visits. Once the baby is born, clinic visits will involve assessments and data collection, the length of the visits will increase, and one home visit will be made to collect environmental samples. We will work with family’s schedules to ensure minimal disruption to their daily routines and compensation will be given for time, travel expenses, and meals.
C. Data Collection
Biosamples, such as blood, hair, urine, and breast milk, will be taken from the mother and baby at different points in the study including at the hospital (or birth center) when the new baby is delivered. Blood samples will also be taken from the father and older sibling with autism once at the beginning of the study.
To assess environmental exposures, we will gather dust samples from the home, and complete a home exposure survey, once during pregnancy and once after the baby is born.
In addition, we will collect information through phone interviews and self reporting on aspects such as diet, medical history, and occupational history.