An exciting area of new growth and tremendous opportunity falls within the Institute for the Developing Mind, its new Boone Fetter Clinic, and CHOIR’s new endowment for autism research on early diagnosis and treatment, funded by Las Madrinas. The following provides a description of the activities initiated this past year in each of these areas.
Institute for the Developing Mind
The vision of the CHLA-USC Institute for the Developing Mind is to be an internationally recognized center for innovative diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders by establishing a comprehensive interdisciplinary program of research and clinical services. Our mission is to provide innovative clinical environments for the early diagnosis and treatment of autism and other conditions that impact cognitive development. This will be accomplished by becoming a leading source of discoveries impacting our understanding of human neurodevelopment and behavior that translate into novel therapeutic opportunities. This will also be accomplished by training a new generation of leaders in the field of neurodevelopmental pediatrics who transcend traditional boundaries between disciplines and institutions. Finally, we seek to serve as a regional resource for social support and education for children and their families who are challenged by autism and related conditions that affect cognitive development.
The Boone Fetter Clinic
The Boone Fetter Clinic was recently launched under the auspices of the CHLA-USC Institute for the Developing Mind, to offer clinical diagnostic and assessment services and serve as a follow-up resource referral for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A multidisciplinary team comprising developmental pediatricians, psychologists, speech/language therapists, and occupational therapists delivers these services within a single setting. Our goal is to create a supportive and nurturing clinical experience that is tailored to the unique needs of not only the patient, but the whole family as well. Please visit the Boone Fetter Clinic website for more information and a list of services.
Las Madrinas Endowment for Autism Research, Interventions and Outcomes
The CHOIR Program was selected to be the recipient of a $5-million endowment to support the development of a new autism diagnostic and intervention research lab. This new endowment, called The Las Madrinas Endowment for Autism Research, Interventions and Outcomes will support the development of a new research lab that will develop innovative tools and technologies for early diagnosis of ASD, including tools that can be used to screen for ASD in community settings, such as screening instruments that can be used by pediatricians in private practice or in community clinics, by teachers and other school personnel, and by social service providers. This new research lab will also support research intended to rigorously test and evaluate different behavioral interventions and clinical therapies, as well as explore the development of cutting-edge technologies to advance the progress that can be made through early intervention. As new interventions are developed, a high priority will be to track both the short and long-term outcomes of these children. Another priority will be the translation and dissemination of research findings to community providers to ensure that ultimately effective interventions are delivered in community settings where often we can make the greatest impact.
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