EDWARDSVILLE – According to the 2020 United States Census, one in 44 children in the U.S. has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties with communication, social, verbal, and motor skills. Research shows most children who have ASD are not diagnosed until age four or older, even though ASD can be reliably diagnosed by age two. Now, with the support of a Sustaining Illinois Seed Grant from the Illinois Innovation Network, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Engineering’s (SOE) Sinan Onal, PhD, is leading research aimed at providing equitable access to early screening tools for ASD. Onal is principal investigator (PI) of the project, entitled, “A Data-Driven Application to Predict ASD Index for Children Living in Underserved, Underrepresented, and Low-income Communities.” Co-PIs include three researchers from Northern Illinois University. Their work aims to reduce the current gap in diagnosis and
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