Leading Physicians and Medical Centers Join Together to Improve Medical Treatment for Autism/ Strategic Alliance Formed between Autism Treatment Network and Cure Autism Now to Accelerate Standard of Care for Autism

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Leading Physicians and Medical Centers Join Together to Improve Medical

Treatment for Autism

Strategic Alliance Formed between Autism Treatment Network and Cure

Autism Now to Accelerate Standard of Care for Autism

Formation of the Autism Treatment Network (ATN), a national nonprofit

organization designed to support collaboration to improve treatment for

autism, will be announced tomorrow. ATN is the nation's first network

of hospitals and physicians that aims to bridge gaps in knowledge and

understanding and improve treatment for individuals with autism.

" There are hundreds of thousands of children and families struggling

with autism. They face a tremendous challenge as considerable gaps

remain in understanding how best to treat this disorder. This is

especially true with regard to medical issues. By establishing

collaboration among leading hospitals, ATN will create a better standard

of care for autism and help make that care broadly available, " said

Fade, co-founder of ATN.

The goal of the ATN is to create treatment guidelines that will be made

broadly available to physicians, researchers, parents, policy makers and

other dedicated to enhancing the medical care of individuals with

autism. The ATN will include physicians and healthcare practitioners

from six leading medical centers that have come together to evaluate the

medical conditions present in autism and provide best practices for

their identification and treatment. The founding centers in the

network include: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston; Cleveland Clinic

Foundation, Cleveland; Columbia University Medical Center, New York

City; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Oregon Health & Science

University, Portland, Oregon and the University of Washington Medical

Center, Seattle. ATN physicians and clinicians will work to establish

common practice guidelines and a database to enable the team to better

understand the nature and scope of health issues in autism. Physician

conferences will be held to discuss treatment and outcomes related to

various medical interventions for individuals on the autism spectrum.

Ultimately, ATN hopes to produce treatment guidelines for autism based

on credible research and rigorous clinical trials.

Additionally, Cure Autism Now, one of the leading funders of autism

research in the United States, and ATN simultaneously announced they

have entered into a strategic alliance to accelerate the work of ATN.

The alliance will take advantage of the research capabilities and

collaborative protocols that Cure Autism Now has developed over the past

10 years. " Families want more access to treatments that work, and the

ATN medical protocol will provide more effective treatment options, "

said Bell, CEO and executive director of Cure Autism Now. " With

the establishment of evidence-based treatments, families will one day

have effective treatments available to them within driving distance of

their homes. " Cure Autism Now has a long and successful track record of

leadership in funding research, education and political advocacy.

ATN's mission and model have been well received and have earned the

support of professionals, academic institutions, community and advocacy

organizations in the field. " Research teams across the United States

are focused on the critical work of discovering the underlying

mechanisms resulting in autism; that work will be crucial in the

future, " said R. Insel, M.D., director of the National Institute

of Mental Health and chair of the federal government's Interagency

Autism Coordinating Committee. " Collaboration, as it is structured and

supported through ATN's model, should improve the quality of treatment

and increase awareness of treatment options. We are enthusiastic about

this collaborative effort, and we look forward to partnering with ATN to

foster greater accessibility of new and better treatments developed

through research. "

More information on the Autism Treatment Network is available at

www.autismtreatmentnetwork.org <http://www.autismtreatmentnetwork.org/>

..

For more information about Cure Autism Now, please visit

www.cureautismnow.org <http://www.cureautismnow.org/> .