Participants

Our data set consisted of 768 individuals, including both male (678) and female (90) participants, among which 554 children (age, 3.3 to 15.2 years) were affected by ASD and 214 children (age, 3.2 to 16.3 years) were typically developing controls (TDCs). Participants were recruited and diagnosed by expert clinicians at the Center for Autism Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Children with known genetic conditions associated with ASD were excluded from the study. DNA samples were collected through cheek swabs and/or blood draw. All procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board at CHOP.