Andrew Kitchenman, NJ SPOTLIGHT Posted: Wednesday, July 10, 2013, 1:07 AM
Studying and treating autism poses daunting challenges - but the difficult task could made easier if researchers and health-care providers who work with autistic children coordinate their efforts.
New Jersey officials and health-care leaders credited the new Montclair State University Autism Center for Excellence for emphasizing such an approach, as new grants were announced by the state council that funds autism research.
The center, launched last year, encourages health-care providers and autism researchers to work together to speed up development of new treatments.
A total of $4.5 million was awarded by the state in June to seven projects, ranging from research to examine biological markers that could be used to identify children with autism to a study of the transportation needs of those with autism.
The largest grant award - $2.25 million over five years - was given to Children's Specialized Hospital to develop a new autism screening tool for diagnosing children from culturally diverse families.
Hospital chief executive officer Amy Mansue said increased coordination among institutions has practical benefits.
Traditionally, when institutions receive grants, "we spend all of our time in the administering of those elements of the grant that we won," she said.
Encouraging coordination enables grant winners to "look to both solve problems and leverage discovery in ways that have not been done in the past."
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Montclair autism center stresses coordinated efforts