CARD Receives Grant to Help San Diego Children with Autism

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The National Foundation for Autism Research has awarded the Center for Autism

and Related Disorders (CARD) research and development department a Community

Project Grant. The grant will be used for CARD's Creating Opportunities to Meet

Peers and Advance Social Skills (COMPASS) study to teach social skills in a

playgroup setting to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). CARD's San

Diego, California, treatment center will conduct several 12-week playgroups,

starting in February, 2012.

The COMPASS study, which is a randomized controlled trial, will include 24

children between the ages of five and seven years who reside in San Diego. It

will specifically measure each participant's improvement and generalization of

skills in five key areas that include sharing, turn taking, initiating play,

joining play, and maintaining play.

" We are grateful for NFAR's support. Many individuals with autism spectrum

disorders face significant challenges in the development of social skills. Our

study will conduct behaviorally oriented playgroups with the goal of enhancing

foundational social skills. Such social skills are known to be essential to

overall quality of life, " says CARD Director of Research and Development

Tarbox, PhD, BCBA-D. Tarbox is the study's principal investigator. " We

are hoping the San Diego study can provide a research-based model that any

community can easily duplicate. "

The NFAR Community Project Grant will support CARD's research department in its

groundbreaking work. The primary focus of CARD research is assessment and

treatment based on applied behavior analysis (ABA), although CARD's research

addresses any topic that may hold promise for producing information that could

improve the lives of individuals with autism.

About the Center for Autism and Related Disorders:

The Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) is among the world's largest

and most experienced organizations effectively treating children with autism and

related disorders with state-of-the-art therapy. The mission of CARD's research

department is to conduct empirical research on the assessment and treatment of

autism and to disseminate its research findings and derived technology through

publication and the education of both professionals and the public. For more

information about CARD, visit www.centerforautism.com.

About the National Foundation for Autism Research:

The National Foundation for Autism Research (NFAR) was founded in December,

2003, to aid in the development, expansion and support of effective treatment

programs and services that improve the quality of life for children and young

adults with autism and autism spectrum disorders. To date, NFAR has awarded

nearly $500,000 in grants and direct services throughout San Diego County. This

grant is one of six awarded by NFAR this year in its Community Project Grants

category. For more information about NFAR, visit www.NFAR.org.