October 2002, the institute released a study appearing to confirm that the prevalence of autism has risen steeply. The study was led by Robert Byrd, whose team gathered information on 684 children with developmental disabilities from California's Department of Developmental Services regional centers. Byrd's team's reported autism was on the rise in California, and that some of the increase was real and could not be explained by artificial factors such as misclassification and diagnostic criteria changes, nor by migration of children into California. However, a 2006 analysis found that special education data poorly measured prevalence because so many cases were undiagnosed, and that the 1994–2003 U.S. increase was associated with declines in other diagnostic categories, indicating that diagnostic substitution had occurred in the U.S. overall (though not in California in particular). The current consensus is that the rise in the number of autism cases is largely attributable to changes in diagnostic practices, referral patterns, availability of services, age at diagnosis, and public awareness, though as-yet-unidentified contributing environmental risk factors cannot be ruled out. However, a study published in 2009 found that the seven- to eight-fold increase in the number children born in California with autism since 1990 cannot be explained by either changes in diagnosis or counting. Published in the January 2009 issue of Epidemiology, results also suggest that research should shift from genetics to the host of chemicals and infectious microbes in the environment that are likely at the root of changes in the neurodevelopment of California's children. Autism Phenome Project In 2006, the MIND Institute launched its Autism Phenome Project, with the objective of identifying biological and behavioral patterns in order to define distinct autism spectrum subtypes. According to Amaral, "The tremendous variation in autism leads us to believe that it is a group of disorders rather than a single one." The longitudinal study will enroll 1800 children, aged two to four: 900 diagnosed with autism, 450 with developmental delays, and 450 neurotypical control subjects. The study will involve systematic analyses of immune systems, brain structures, genetics, environmental exposures and blood proteins and other developmental indicators, and the medical evaluations will continue for several years. References External links UC Davis MIND Institute – home page. A New Approach to Autism: MIND Institute Sees Parents as Essential to a Cure – Jon Hamilton, All Things Considered, National Public Radio (2003-01-20). Autism-related organizations in the United States Psychology institutes University