Montclair residents living with autism will be among the first to experience the benefits from seven grants, totaling $4.5 million, recently funded by the Governor's Council for Medical Research and Treatment of Autism, a division of the state Department of Health. The projects were funded by a grant program known as the New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence.
STAFF PHOTO BY ADAM ANIK
Kaitlin Mulcahy, center, associate director of the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health at Montclair State University, and graduate assistant Jennifer Mathias conduct play therapy with Saul Rodriguez in a playroom in the building on Normal Avenue.
That program also funds the Coordinating Center at Montclair State University, which will oversee the research across the different sites.
Kaitlin Mulcahy, associate director of the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health on the MSU campus, and a member of the Coordinating Center, told The Times that the information gleaned from the studies will quickly trickle down to Montclair families.
Staff at the Coordinating Center include faculty with expertise in computer science, biostatistics, autism spectrum disorder clinical treatment, and research and evaluation, said Mulcahy. As the head of the Coordinating Center, Gerard Costa, director of the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health, will be principally responsible for encouraging collaboration among the research sites, Mulcahy said.
During a press conference at the Ben Samuels Children's Center at MSU on Thursday, June 27, state Commissioner of Health Mary O'Dowd said that the grants have been disbursed in order to seek a better understanding of the treatment of autism. The condition affects as many as one in 49 children in New Jersey, noted O'Dowd.
The money for the awards comes from moving vehicle violations, said Caroline Eggerding, chair of The Governor's Council For Medical Research and Autism, to an appreciative laugh from the audience assembled at the press event. Eggerding advised the audience to remember that fact, when they are aggravated by a speeding ticket.
Montclairites already benefit from the MSU center's programs, which include clinical and consultation services. At any given time, as many as half of the clinic's caseload of between 15 and 20 families are from Montclair, Mulcahy said.
Corinne G. Catalano, the center's school psychologist, works with elementary public schools in Montclair. Having the research coordinated at MSU means that whatever information Catalano learns, she can quickly share with local educators, she said.
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Autism research will be coordinated at Montclair State University