Table 1.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study cohort.

Inclusion Criteria
ASD Cases	Control Children	Mothers
ASD diagnosis according to DSM-5 Any language and cognitive level Age between 2.5 and 18 years Living, healthy and consanguineous mother	Neurotypical subjects, absence of neuropsychiatric disorders Matched for sex and age with ASD children Living, healthy and consanguineous mother	Neurotypical subjects, absence of neuropsychiatric disorders; Matched for sex and age with the ASD and controls mothers
Exclusion Criteria
ASD and Control Children		Mothers
Age < 2.5 or >18 years Significant peri- and postnatal complications Malformations or syndromes Significant EEG alteration (except photosensitivity) Significant MRI alterations (e.g., gliosis, hypomyelination); common variants are included Chronic autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases Endocrine diseases (including thyroidopathy, diabetes) Congenital deafness Ongoing infections		Drug, tobacco (>10 cigarettes/day), alcohol use, other teratogens (e.g., radiations) during gestation Gestational diseases (diabetes, infections) chronic autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases (e.g., CD, T1D, SLE, RA, MS), particularly if under specific treatment) Endocrine diseases (including thyroidopathy, diabetes) Ongoing infections

Abbreviations: EEG, electroencephalography; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; CD, coeliac diseases; T1D, type 1 diabetes; SLE, systemic lupus erythematous; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; MS, multiple sclerosis.