EPITED

Context: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a major public health problem because they are highly prevalent (7/1000 cases), long lasting and often associated with medical condition (e.g.; epilepsy, genetic diseases). The developmental course from early childhood into young adulthood of children with ASD has been rarely described and their risk factors are insufficiently known due to the very few long term longitudinal studies. Objectives: The main objective is to describe the developmental trajectories from early adulthood to adulthood in a cohort already assessed at three times. The secondary objectives are to describe the characteristics of these patients at adulthood and to study the relationship between their characteristics and their trajectory. Relevance of the proposal: This is one of the rare large international cohorts followed over such a long time. The results might improve our understanding of the developmental course in ASD and their risk factors. Its multi-thematic nature will generate a constructive environment for translational research. Work program / project structuring: The project duration will be 42 months, (9 months to implement the study, 24 months to make the recruitment and 9 months to make the analysis and write the final report). We plan five tasks: T1 (coordination and management), T2 (communication and dissemination of results), T3 (Data Management), T4 (data collection) and T5 (data analysis). The project will follow up already followed 152 adults over 10 years (data collected at 3 times earlier) whose recruitment will be done at national level in collaboration with regional centers for autism. Governance: The project coordination will be assured to the CHRU of Montpellier, which will also validate the rules governing the use of data and publications. To ensure the proper conduct of the study, a team project will be implemented (a research engineer, 2 psychologists). CHRU Montpellier is sponsoring the online data entry, management and analysis of data will be centralized. Expected Results and Prospects: To develop knowledge about developmental trajectories in ASD over a long time period and to describe the situation of individuals with ASD at adulthood in order to identify their needs and plan useful services.