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Autism gets new focus
By: Bob Sigman, Opinion Page Editor
Autism strikes about one of every 150 children. It is increasing 10 percent to 15 percent a year, in part, experts say, because of improved diagnosis. Autism is widespread; it claims more young victims than cancer, diabetes and AIDs combined. This type of information is widely known in the research community.
What the scientists and those engaged in dealing with autism do not know is much more complex and elusive.
Debra Kamps does know that solving autism spectrum disorders is as complicated as the condition. It requires a multidisciplinary effort.
That is why the University of Kansas has created a new bi-campus research center that will operate in Lawrence and at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. Kamps, a senior researcher, is a leader, along with Matthew Reese, a researcher and child psychologist who oversees the autism clinics at the medical center.
“It’s time we needed to pull everything together,” said Kamps in an interview about establishment of the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training, or K-CART.
More than 40 faculty members, all with interests and clinical practice in the disorder, have been assembled from KU, the medical center and other KU research groups. They concentrate on several disciplines, among them psychiatry; behavioral, clinical and developmental psychology; special education; and occupational and speech therapy.
These researchers have 28 grants of $9.3 million.
Kamps said the center will work in three problem areas: delay in communication skills of autism victims, socialization and behavioral challenges.
The emphasis will be on the nature and management of the disorder, not necessarily its causes. An immediate objective is to disseminate information to practitioners, educators and parents in the state and region, she said.
Early intervention is a goal. That involves identifying autism in babies 12 to 18 months of age. Those who have studied the condition believe early diagnosis is critical to providing assistance to the child and those who care for it.
One researcher screens babies to measure visual responses, which can be revealing in early detection of autism. Another is involved in helping mothers interact early with babies as a way to deal with the disorder.
For older victims, Kamps said the focus will be on enhancing social skills of students, employment capabilities and independent living.
Kamps said Kansas is the seventh state to create a special center for autism.
In its training initiative, K-CART has entered into a contract with the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services to improve the knowledge and skills of professionals in the field. The program is expected to train about 50 of them a year. Another 100 individuals are to be instructed in less demanding skills to assist in the care of patients.
Kamps said it is difficult to determine the number of persons with autism in this area. One indication is the number of families, about 200 of them, who seek help at the clinics at the medical center each year.
Funding, she said, comes from both the public and private sectors. In addition to the existing grants, she said KU and the medical center have contributed $1 million in “seed money” for pilot projects designed to attract larger grants. From the private sector is a $1 million gift from the estate of Wanda and Thomas Pyle of Elmdale, Kan., and a contribution of up to $90,000 from Kansas City Young Matrons, a group of some 300 women who raise funds with an annual charity ball.
“Families throughout the region have come forward to support KU taking a more public leadership role in addressing this perplexing disorder,” Kamps concluded in a university news release.
Contact Bob Sigman at 385-6034 or e-mail bsigman@sunpublications.com.
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What the scientists and those engaged in dealing with autism do not know is much more complex and elusive.
Debra Kamps does know that solving autism spectrum disorders is as complicated as the condition. It requires a multidisciplinary effort.
That is why the University of Kansas has created a new bi-campus research center that will operate in Lawrence and at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. Kamps, a senior researcher, is a leader, along with Matthew Reese, a researcher and child psychologist who oversees the autism clinics at the medical center.
“It’s time we needed to pull everything together,” said Kamps in an interview about establishment of the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training, or K-CART.
More than 40 faculty members, all with interests and clinical practice in the disorder, have been assembled from KU, the medical center and other KU research groups. They concentrate on several disciplines, among them psychiatry; behavioral, clinical and developmental psychology; special education; and occupational and speech therapy.
These researchers have 28 grants of $9.3 million.
Kamps said the center will work in three problem areas: delay in communication skills of autism victims, socialization and behavioral challenges.
The emphasis will be on the nature and management of the disorder, not necessarily its causes. An immediate objective is to disseminate information to practitioners, educators and parents in the state and region, she said.
Early intervention is a goal. That involves identifying autism in babies 12 to 18 months of age. Those who have studied the condition believe early diagnosis is critical to providing assistance to the child and those who care for it.
One researcher screens babies to measure visual responses, which can be revealing in early detection of autism. Another is involved in helping mothers interact early with babies as a way to deal with the disorder.
For older victims, Kamps said the focus will be on enhancing social skills of students, employment capabilities and independent living.
Kamps said Kansas is the seventh state to create a special center for autism.
In its training initiative, K-CART has entered into a contract with the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services to improve the knowledge and skills of professionals in the field. The program is expected to train about 50 of them a year. Another 100 individuals are to be instructed in less demanding skills to assist in the care of patients.
Kamps said it is difficult to determine the number of persons with autism in this area. One indication is the number of families, about 200 of them, who seek help at the clinics at the medical center each year.
Funding, she said, comes from both the public and private sectors. In addition to the existing grants, she said KU and the medical center have contributed $1 million in “seed money” for pilot projects designed to attract larger grants. From the private sector is a $1 million gift from the estate of Wanda and Thomas Pyle of Elmdale, Kan., and a contribution of up to $90,000 from Kansas City Young Matrons, a group of some 300 women who raise funds with an annual charity ball.
“Families throughout the region have come forward to support KU taking a more public leadership role in addressing this perplexing disorder,” Kamps concluded in a university news release.
Contact Bob Sigman at 385-6034 or e-mail bsigman@sunpublications.com.