MU expert says bill will have enormous impact on autism research

This week, the Combating Autism Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill authorizes almost $1 billion to combat autism over the next five years through research, screening, early detection and early intervention.

"The Combating Autism Act is a bill that will increase federal funding for autism research and services by $924 million through 2011," said Janet Farmer, director of the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the University of Missouri-Columbia. "This funding has the potential to jump start our ability to understand the causes of this brain disorder and to improve treatments."

Autism spectrum disorders can severely affect communication and social skills early in development and throughout life. Up to 1.5 million individuals in this country are affected, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and AIDS combined. At the MU Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, we are ready to respond to this urgent call for a federal ‘war’ on autism. We plan to combat autism through new discoveries that benefit children and families.

Farmer also is a professor of health psychology in the MU School of Health Professions. Her research has focused on autism and access to health care for patients with neurodevelopmental disorders. Farmer has worked extensively with children and families affected by autism, traumatic brain injury and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Farmer has received grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, NIH/National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth and the Missouri Foundation for Health. She also is associate editor of the Journal of Rehabilitation Psychology.