About This Study
The National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded the ACE Network on Late Diagnosis a $12M grant allowing us to extend our 13-year ACE research for an additional five years.
We want to understand why
some autistic people get late or missed diagnoses.
Research Sites
Online Participation
We are currently enrolling people who can either:
1) Come to a physical site to take part in the research.
2) Participate in the research study online.
We are currently enrolling online and at Children’s National Research Institute/George Mason University, University of California Los Angeles, University of Virginia, and Yale University.
The Study
We are exploring how autism may look different depending on individual factors. We are also exploring how a person’s background may affect when and if they get diagnosed with autism.*
*see glossary for definitions
Adult participants (ages 18+) will have the option to be a part of DNA collection during the study. Participants can choose to spit into a tube for genetics. We believe that learning how the brain and genetics affect things like well-being, and when someone is diagnosed, can help us create better tools for supporting autistic people in the future. We will NOT use any DNA to develop a prenatal (before birth) test for autism or to prevent autism. The genetics part of this study is not affiliated with the government. Your sample won’t be sent to anyone besides this team.