President's message
Dear Friends,
As President of the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) I
wish to both welcome you to our Web site and thank you for your
interest in effective intervention through the promotion of quality
applied research. As you may know, OAR is the only national
autism organization whose mission is the promotion of applied
research and the subsequent dissemination of evidence-based information. And
why is this important?
- Seeing is not believing. Believing a specific intervention
works is simply not enough. The one resource in consistently
short supply is that of time. As such, interventions that are
ineffective or have limited efficacy waste this precious resource
independent of what we may believe, or hope to believe, works. Applied
research allows us to make the transition from belief to knowledge
and, in so doing, make the best use of our time and our student's
time.
- Correlation does not mean causation. A number of years
ago in New York City all the buttons on the stop lights that
read "To Cross Street, Push Button, Wait for Green" were
disconnected. Yet people keep right on pressing them. Why? Because
every so often they push the button and the light changes for
no other reason than it was programmed to change at that time. This
results in a chance occurrence being interpreted as direct
result of one's action (in this case, pushing the button). We
may certainly perceive causation here but there is none. Applied
research gives us the tools to stop pressing buttons that do
not work.
- We have an ethical obligation. Quite simply, professionals
in the field have an ethical obligation to our students, adult
clients, families and funding sources to provide treatment
and intervention that is most likely to be effective. How
do we know what is most likely to be effective? By doing
the research, disseminating the outcomes and translating the
findings into our professional practice. Individual learners
with autism and their families deserve nothing less.
The Research Agenda
With that in mind, OAR’s research agenda is more challenging. Last year, we expanded the Applied Research and Graduate Competitions by adding one-year grants of $45,000 and two-year grants of $60,000 and awarded $290,000 in grants. This year we intend to award up to $400,000 in total applied research grants. The Graduate Research Program has seen an increase in funding from $22,000 in 2006 to $30,000 in 2007.
This year will also bring the publication of the Proceedings from OAR’s first biennial Autism Research Convocation held last June. The focus of the first Convocation was "Evidence-Based Interventions and Supports for Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders." The Proceedings will include papers on each topic addressed during the convocation with a literature review, 10-year research plan, and commentary from community stakeholders. Planning for the second Convocation, tentatively set to examine “Social Skills and Adaptive Behaviors” in June 2008, has just begun.
Finally, we are hosting the 5th Annual Applied Research and Intervention Conference in October and have an outstanding line up of speakers that includes both OAR funded researchers and invited speakers. (Click here to see the full schedule.) The conference promises to again be an extraordinarily worthwhile two day event.
We began 2007 by publishing Life Journey through Autism: A Guide for Transition to Adulthood, and we will finish the year by adding the first Best of The OARacle publication to our growing list of evidence-based resources. The Best of will feature a compilation of the best research and resource articles publishedin OAR's monthly e-newsletter since its first issue in September 2002.
OAR’s 2007 Research Agenda is ambitious by any measure. With the mission of OAR being to "apply research to the challenges of autism" this year's goals represent another step forward in doing just that. Thank you for your interest in, and support of, this mission.
Best
Peter F. Gerhardt, Ed.D.
President
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