Research and Clinical Trials

Our Autism Center is a key partner in the nationwide SPARK study to collect DNA samples from 50,000 families. By shedding light on how genes affect autism, this research helps point the way to better therapies. SPARK’s goal is to learn more about autism-linked genes and to connect people to relevant studies. It matches people to studies based on genetic background, age, gender, medical history and other factors.

To learn more, see:

• SPARK: Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge Study
• After 20 Years, a Mom Finds an Answer (Video 2:52)

Biomarkers are ways to measure how the body is working. Dr. Sara Webb works to develop biomarkers that tell how the brain and body are working in children with autism and other conditions that affect the nervous system. She uses many ways to get information. These include measuring electrical activity in the brain and heart.

Webb aims to create better ways to understand why some children develop autism. She also seeks to improve services for children with social challenges. She directs the Psychophysiology and Behavioral Systems Lab at Seattle Children's Research Institute.

Four times more boys than girls are diagnosed with autism. Dr. Sara Webb wants to know why. It might be that signs of autism are different in females than in males. Or doctors may miss clues because girls are better at hiding their social struggles. Webb directs the Seattle site for the GENDAAR study. The study’s goal is to better understand sex differences in brain structure, function, connectivity and genetics in youth with autism.

• Watch Diagnosis and Prevalence of Females With Autism (Video 6:58)

Dr. Frederick Shic’s team at Seattle Children’s Innovative Technologies Lab studies and creates tools to help children with autism build social skills. The tools include a social robot and “superpower” eyeglasses to help kids identify faces and emotions. Placed on the desk next to a computer, the robot:

• Encourages children to engage with others
• Models positive social skills like taking turns
• Changes tasks based on the child’s strengths and choices

More than 100 genetic changes (mutations) are linked to autism. Dr. Stephen Smith’s lab works to find out:

• How these genetic changes affect brain function
• If different mutations affect brain function in similar ways

Current research focuses on the connections between the brain’s nerve cells. These are called synapses, and they control how the brain processes information. The lab’s long-term goal is to group children with autism into categories based on how their genetic changes affect brain function. This would open the door to new treatments tailored to different types of autism. His lab is part of our Center for Integrative Brain Research (CIBR).

Study after study finds NO link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. Seattle Children’s doctors work to dispel fears so parents get the lifesaving MMR vaccine for their children. Our former Autism Center director wrote an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association about this issue.