Systems for Phenotypic Evaluation, Clinical Trajectories, Response, and Agency (SPECTRA)

SPECTRA will identify and act on autism trajectories, the evolving developmental paths individuals follow across the lifespan from the prenatal period through aging, spanning autism characteristics, co-occurring conditions, and functional outcomes together with the genetic, biological, behavioral, iatrogenic (medical influences), environmental factors and their nonlinear interactions. Rather than examining these factors in isolation, SPECTRA will examine how they combine and interact, including their nonlinear interactions, to produce autism and its co-occurring conditions over time.

SPECTRA will also develop technologies that serve two purposes at once: extending reliable assessment beyond the clinic while improving everyday communication, function, and quality of life. The same tools people use to live more fully will also generate the data that drive measurement and personalized care.