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Aug. 22, 2007
Contact: Karen Henry, Life Span Institute, (785) 864-0756.

KU working toward creation of permanent autism research center

LAWRENCE — The Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas has formed the bi-campus Work Group on Autism Research and Training to lay the foundation for a permanent center dedicated to autism research and training.

“Autism Spectrum Disorders are a significant public health crisis,” said Debra Kamps, who will chair the group. “ASD is more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1 in 150 children, or 6.7 per 1,000, have ASD, compared to earlier estimates of 4 to 5 per 10,000.

Kamps, a nationally recognized autism researcher at KU’s Juniper Gardens Children’s Project in Kansas City, Kan., has organized a steering committee of clinicians and scientists from the Lawrence and KU Medical Center campuses to explore the creation of a multi-dimensional program of national significance.

The steering committee will expand the work group over the next few weeks to include an advisory committee of additional KU faculty along with parents and autism advocates, Kamps said.

“The state of Kansas is looking to KU to provide leadership in training and research to respond to the autism epidemic,” said Kamps.
A permanent autism center would help KU grow its externally funded autism research to assist the state and region in providing effective services for individuals with ASD and their families, said Kamps.

The center would be a catalyst for collaboration on ASD issues, attracting promising KU graduate students and young scientists into the field of ASD research and service.

The other members of the Work Group Executive Committee are: Matthew Reese, a child psychologist who directs the Center for Child Health and Development, the KU Medical Center’s primary developmental disability clinics; Linda Heitzman-Powell, a child psychologist and board certified behavior analyst who is affiliated primarily with the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project; John Colombo, a neuroscientist, professor of psychology and associate director for cognitive neuroscience of the Life Span Institute; and Steven Warren, director the Life Span Institute and the Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Center who became KU’s interim vice provost for research and graduate studies on Aug. 16.

Reese and Heitzman-Powell are also members of the Kansas Autism Task Force, established by Senate Bill 138.

The work group will introduce itself to the public from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, in a panel presentation at Regnier Hall on the Edwards Campus in Overland Park. The panel will include other professionals and parents from the Kansas City area. “Considering Autism: KU Life Span Institute Community Conversations” will be the first of a series of Life Span Institute “community conversations” held at the Edwards Campus. The event is free and no registration is required. For more information, contact Karen Henry at (785) 864-4295.

Panel members: Warren; Kamps; Reese; Judith Carta, parent and senior scientist, KU Life Span Institute; Michele Kilo, section chief, developmental and behavioral science, Children’s Mercy Hospital; Susan Corrigan, research associate, KU School of Social Welfare; Mike Wasmer, director and co-founder, Kansas Coalition for Autism Legislation; and Susan Boylan, senior regional director-Midwest, Autism Speaks

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