The genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity in ASD has made research in ASD, including the development of novel treatments, challenging. Charles Bailey will test the feasibility of bringing together existing streams of data from the SPARK registry and from PEDSnet, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) database, to further the depth and breadth of information available for study of ASD. The study will focus on SPARK registry members with CHOP identified as their health care provider and will examine existing CHOP electronic health records for these individuals.

SPARK (Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge) is an autism research initiative that aims to recruit, engage and retain a community of 50,000 individuals with autism and their family members living in the U.S. Participation in this cohort will involve contribution of medical and behavioral information, mailing in saliva for genetic analysis, the potential option to have genetic findings related to autism returned, and consenting to be invited to participate in future research studies.