Kansas Center for Autism Training and Research opens doors

Families and practitioners who need practical advice about autism spectrum disorders now have a hands-on resource center as part of the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training, known as K-CART, at the Edwards Campus.

Nearly 100 people attended the official launch of K-CART’s Autism Resource Center at an open house on March 24. The event featured tours, exhibits by Kansas City autism organizations and a talk by Peter Bell, executive vice president of Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism advocacy organization.

Representatives of the Kansas City Young Matrons also were on hand to announce the group had raised $110,000 for K-CART at its 2009 Magic Ball. The funds will be used to produce an educational DVD set about autism to be distributed free of charge to families and to remodel a space for social skills groups at the Center for Child Health and Development at the KU Medical Center.

"Today is a great day," said Debra Kamps, director of the center and an autism researcher. "I didn't know if we were going to be able to accomplish this. I knew we could do research and training. We know how to do that at KU. But I wasn't sure we could connect with the community in this way."

Bob Clark, vice chancellor of the Edwards Campus, who donated the space to K-CART, sees the Autism Resource Center as a perfect match for Edwards and its community.

“In terms of the services it brings to parents and teachers in Kansas City, it is going to be a remarkable success.”

Jennifer Currier, a Kansas City-area parent of a child with autism, echoed that sentiment. “I think the resource center is fantastic. It has a centralized location, free parking and a parent can just walk in. It will help grassroots organizations get more information and give us a place in Kansas City where we can talk to each other.”

Bell described how his career with autism advocacy organizations was fueled by his son’s diagnosis of autism 14 years ago.

“We are now facing a tsunami of children with autism who are in their adolescent years,” Bell said. He stressed the importance of K-CART’s resource center for the Kansas City community. “Autism Speaks has the largest online autism resource library in the country but K-CART’s center is special because it is something that you can actually see, feel and touch.”

The Autism Resource Center, 270 Regnier Hall, is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays. K-CART will also sponsor community events at the resource center, including guest lectures and training workshops.

The center includes more than 150 books, DVDs and reference materials, all available for free checkout. Resources are designed for parents and siblings of children with autism as well as teenagers and adults who themselves have autism or related disorders, such as Asperger’s syndrome. Several materials offer practical strategies especially for teachers and service providers.

Materials were purchased with gifts to KU Endowment, including donations from the Autism Society of America-Heartland chapter and “Caeden’s Cause” hosted in July 2008 by families and businesses in the Kansas City area. Interior design students and faculty at Johnson County Community College volunteered their time to design the space, furnishings and other visual elements of the family-friendly center.

K-CART is one of 13 centers of KU’s Life Span Institute.