Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training
Vision Statement draft 10/19/07

Rationale: More than 1.5 million Americans currently live with autism. The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is estimated at 1 in 150. This makes autism more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. In short autism has become a significant public health concern. Research dollars are increasingly being committed to discovering the causes of autism and to the development and testing of effective treatments. The State of Kansas has been slow to respond to the increasing prevalence of children with an autism spectrum disorder. This is now changing. There is every indication that the state of Kansas will soon be providing enhanced service options for children with autism. They are already looking to the University of Kansas and especially the Life Span Institute (LSI) to provide research, training, and leadership.

Purpose: The vision of the proposed Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (K-CART) is to address the growing numbers of children identified with ASD through university affiliated research and training. Currently the Work Group on Autism Research and Training has been established to lay the foundation for the center. This planning effort is focused on the creation of a multi-dimensional program of state and national significance. The proposed center will

• increase externally funded autism research at KU and KUMC,
• enhance KU and KUMC efforts to assist the state in meeting the challenges of providing effective, high quality services,
• increase KU’s and KUMC’s responsiveness to the needs of, persons with ASD, their families, and their communities,
• increase interdisciplinary collaboration to support ASD research and training at KU and KUMC,
• work with endowment on strategies to support our mission.

At present, funding for autism related research is one of the very few growth areas in the federal discretionary budget. We believe that with a carefully conceived university wide initiative we can create a center that will be highly competitive for this funding.

Short and Long Term Goals related to improving treatment:

1. Implement training activities to serve persons with ASD, parents, interventionists, teachers; expand outreach services.
2. Contribute to state-level policy, funding, regulations affecting children/families/service providers e.g., KS Autism Task Force.
3. Establish community-based advisory boards (a) parents and family members, and (b) schools and service agencies to give input on K-CART mission and activities.
4. Maintain a K-CART/ASD subsite on the LSI website to (a) disseminate information to the community and university staff regarding evidence based interventions, and links to resources (Bi-State Initiative, KC Autism Alliance, National Autism Center), and (b) provide a list of ASD related grant funding opportunities.
5. Establish a resource center for families, schools, and communities to link families to information to access screening, diagnostic, and treatment services to improve outcomes for children and youth with autism/ASD for the state of Kansas.

Short and Long Term Goals related to increasing research dollars and activities to impact future and innovative interventions for the population

1. Recruit and maintain core funding for K-CART.
2. Increase grant submissions and funded grants related to treatment of ASD and applied research dollars at LSI/KU.
3. Enhance and promote KU’s capacity for basic discovery research on the etiology, epidemiology, neural bases, and neurodevelopmental characteristics of ASD relevant to causes and treatment.
4. Increase interdisciplinary collaboration for ASD research and training at KU.
5. Establish a collaborative group of KU young investigators and mentors interested in ASD research and service.
   

Work Group on Autism Research and Training,
Executive Planning Committee for K-CART:

Steve Warren, Ph.D., Director, Life Span Institute at Kansas University
Debra Kamps, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, LSI, Associate Director of Juniper Gardens Children’s Project (Committee Chair)
Matt Reese, Ph.D., Director, Center for Child Health and Development, KUMC
Linda Heitzman-Powell, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor, LSI
John Colombo, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Associate Director for Cognitive Neuroscience, LSI
Jessica Hellings, M.D., Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Psychiatrist, KUMC
Karen Salisbury Henry, Assistant Director for Communications, LSI