ELEAT | Early Life Exposures Assessment Tool

About

What is the Early Life Exposures Assessment Tool (ELEAT)?

ELEAT explained

The ELEAT is a questionnaire created to assess the role of environmental exposures during early life windows of susceptibility relevant to autism and other developmental concerns. The ELEAT Team has tested many of our questions to ensure that they measure risks as accurately as possible and can be understood by wide audiences.

Research purposes

We are sharing the ELEAT with scientists who study autism and developmental delays from a variety of perspectives around the globe. Gathering information about early life environmental risk factors may impact how our partner scientists think about brain development while at the same time providing critical information to support our research.

Long-term goals

Widespread use of a single standardized tool to examine early life exposures will facilitate cross-study analyses, increasing the scientific impact of individual studies and allowing us to explore uncommon risks in large and diverse populations. Our end goal is to use this knowledge to develop strategies to prevent autism and optimize brain development in our children.

Our Team

Rebecca J. Schmidt, PhD

PI (Project Lead)

Professor of Public Health Sciences and the MIND Institute, UC Davis

Cheryl K. Walker, MD

PI (Project Lead)

Obstetrician, Associate Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the MIND Institute, UC Davis

Deborah Bennett, PhD

Investigator

Exposure Scientist, Professor of Public Health Sciences, UC Davis

Daniel Tancredi, PhD

Investigator

Biostatistician, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, UC Davis

Parents

Your participation means so much.

By taking part in this survey, you will become part of a large effort to unravel the root causes of autism and developmental disabilities. Before you begin, please read the steps to get started (below) so you will be prepared for the types of knowledge and documents we will need for this research. Once you click on the link to the questionnaire, you will be redirected from this site to a secure site. Your information will remain secure and private.

Step 1

If you can, please take some time to gather as much information as you can about the period of time beginning 3 months prior to conception through pregnancy, labor and delivery and infancy through your child’s first birthday. This may include:

Calendars
Diet and nutritional supplements used during that time period
Addresses and household information
Medications used during that time period

Step 2

Once you have all your information, please take our survey by clicking the "Take Survey" button below. You will be directed away from this site to a secure site to complete the survey. Enter the username and temporary password provided to you by your site coordinator. You will be asked to review a consent form and consent to participate. You will be asked to create a new password and provide your email address, in case you forget your password. Once you have registered, you will be taken to the survey to begin. You may save and return as many times as you need in order to finish the questionnaire. Thank you!

Researchers

Welcome to the ELEAT

We welcome your contributions, advice and participation. Please take a few moments to familiarize yourself with our site. We have provided links to relevant areas of interest:

ELEAT Contents

ELEAT is a self-administered questionnaire designed for parents (usually mothers) to answer about their child. It includes ~ 260 questions organized into 10 different modules including a module asking about the questionnaire itself. Many questions are skipped depending on gateway question responses. Modules X and B are always asked first, and Module I is always asked last. The rest of the modules are presented in a random order for the online survey. Average completion time is about an hour, but ranges from a half hour to an hour and a half.
Presentation with more information on ELEAT: ELEAT_Presentation_06152016.pdf

Versions

Paper and online Administered Versions
United States Version (English)
United Kingdom Version (English)
Portuguese Version coming soon

10 Modules

Module X: Diagnosis / Demographics
Module B: Breastfeeding & Child Diet
Module M: Maternal Conditions / Medical Interventions
Module D: Maternal Diet
Module S: Supplements
Module L: Lifestyle
Module H: Home Environment
Module E: Environment
Module O: Occupation & Exposures
Module I: Instrument Rating

Copyright and Regulatory Information

Restriction on use: For information on licensing, contact ELEAT@ucdavis.edu. This is a research tool designed for the express purpose of investigating exposures that may influence early life developmental processes. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

ELEAT Supporting Documentation

Itemized Rationale Summaries
Reliability and Validity Results

ELEAT Partners

Use these links to participating institutions and studies

Studies using ELEAT, with ELEAT Data

Modified sections of the ELEAT are being used in the National ECHO Program

Request Data

Click here for the pdf application (coming soon)
For now, please contact us at eleat@ucdavis.edu