Institute for Autism Research Relocates to University at Buffalo with $450,000 Grant, Expanding Access to Evidence-Based Social Skills Programs
核心洞察
The Institute for Autism Research (搜索) (IAR) has moved to the University at Buffalo's Jacobs School of Medicine, enabled by a $450,000 grant from The Children's Guild Foundation (搜索).
The relocation integrates IAR into The Children's Guild Foundation (搜索) Autism Spectrum Disorder (搜索) Center at Golisano Children's Hospital (搜索), the only multidisciplinary autism center in Western New York.
IAR's federally-funded randomized clinical trials demonstrate that children in its programs exhibit immediate social gains that are maintained for five years and beyond.
More Western New York children with autism and their families will gain access to highly effective, evidence-based clinical intervention programs as the Institute for Autism Research (搜索) (IAR) completes its relocation to the University at Buffalo (UB), effective June 2. The move, made possible by a $450,000 grant from The Children's Guild Foundation (搜索) and university support, places the nationally recognized institute within the Department of Pediatrics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (搜索) at UB.
The IAR's new quarters are located on UB's South Campus, where it will deliver all of its programs, including summerMAX — the institute's five-week summer program for children ages 7 to 12 years — scheduled to run from June 29 through July 31.
"The work of The Children's Guild Foundation (搜索) is about much more than grant making," said Darci Cramer, PhD, board chair of The Children's Guild Foundation. "We work to change what is, into what should be. As a foundation, we see our grant making and advocacy blending together to ensure our vision is not just a hope, but something to be achieved. Our partnership with the Institute for Autism Research (搜索) exemplifies this goal."
Integration into a Multidisciplinary Autism Center
The IAR will be integrated within The Children's Guild Foundation (搜索) Autism Spectrum Disorder (搜索) Center, housed at the Robert Warner Center for Developmental Pediatrics and Rehabilitation at Golisano Children's Hospital (搜索) (GCH) of Buffalo. Jointly operated by Kaleida Health and UB, the center is the only facility in Western New York that offers access to a wide range of specialists who work collaboratively to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary care tailored to each child's individual needs, with the additional benefit of direct access to hospital-based services and support resources.
"The incredible work that the IAR does both in research and in the community so perfectly complements the goals of our center, providing transformative care and engaging in groundbreaking research," said Benny L. Joyner, MD, A. Conger Goodyear Professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics in the Jacobs School, pediatrician-in-chief at GCH Buffalo, and president and CEO of UBMD Pediatrics. "Their work will help connect children and families with impactful interventions much more quickly while providing our trainees with access to one of the most effective programs available for children with autism."
Michelle E. Hartley-McAndrew, MD, clinical associate professor of pediatrics in the Jacobs School and medical director of The Children's Guild Foundation (搜索) Autism Spectrum Disorder (搜索) Center at GCH Buffalo, emphasized the IAR's community impact: "They have such a dramatic impact on the quality of life for families. It's crucial to be able to provide these social skills programs for children with autism that they might not be able to access anywhere else."
Expanding Reach Through Needs-Based Access
The grant will enable the IAR to establish needs-based tuition fees, allowing it to serve a larger and more diverse population. Funds will also support the training and hiring of student intern clinicians and staff. Marcus Thomeer, PhD, co-founder of the IAR alongside Christopher J. Lopata, PsyD — both of whom joined UB as professors of pediatrics effective June 2 — expressed gratitude for the foundation's support: "We are so grateful that the funding from The Children's Guild Foundation (搜索) is making our relocation to UB possible so that we can expand our reach to serve more families and continue leading-edge research."
A Research-Driven Approach to Social Skills Development
Established in 2009 at Canisius University by Lopata and Thomeer, the IAR is an interdisciplinary research-based center focused on enhancing the lives of children with autism and their families through a range of social skills programs. The institute has completed and published results of federally-funded randomized clinical trials demonstrating that children in its programs exhibit immediate gains in social performance and behaviors, and maintain those gains for as long as five years and beyond.
"We are running clinical programs, but everything we do is driven by research," Thomeer explained. "We try to understand fundamentally which programs work and do the gains hold up over time? If we are asking families to invest their time in something, we want to make sure it works."
Lopata added: "We have spent many years researching instructional techniques and identifying skills that support the social development of autistic children. Our programs are the product of what we've discovered works."
The IAR MAX programs — named to reflect their goal of "maximizing" children's potential — include structured instruction and repeated practice to support children's social interactions through development of specific social skills, face and emotion recognition, understanding of non-literal language, and broadening of interests. "Our programs help autistic children navigate the social world and expand their social relationships with peers and adults," Thomeer said.
The IAR is one of few centers in the nation that offers evidence-based programs implementable across multiple modalities, including in-school, after school, during the summer, or at home. Lopata and Thomeer are also expanding trainings and consultations provided to school-based professionals, further increasing program sustainability.
To date, Lopata and Thomeer have received $11 million in research funding, produced more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, and helped improve social, behavioral, and educational outcomes for more than 1,400 children and their families. They have trained over 600 students and interns and more than 4,000 health care providers, teachers, and counselors.
Thomeer and Lopata will serve as faculty within the Division of Developmental Pediatrics and Rehabilitation in the Department of Pediatrics, and the IAR is being integrated within UB's Child and Maternal Health Research Institute, which is dedicated to advancing pediatric and maternal health through research, clinical care, community partnerships, and training.