press release
OAR Awards $300,000 in Applied Research Grants
Arlington, VA – On October 25, 2008, the Board of Directors of the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) approved the funding of seven new applied autism research studies for 2008. Following the recommendations of the Scientific Council, these studies consisted of four (4) one-year studies and three (3) two-year research projects, totaling $300,000. With the distribution of this year’s awards, OAR will have given more than $1.7 million in research grants since the beginning of this initiative in 2003.
Through this annual competition, OAR accomplishes its goal of promoting studies that yield practical and clearly objective results that contribute to enhance the quality of life for people with autism and provide evidence-based information for use by parents, families, and service providers. Every year both the quality and quantity of proposals increases. While this trend makes the selection process increasingly difficult, it also means those receiving grants are truly of great value to the autism community.
Of the 66 pre-proposals originally submitted, the recipients of the 2008 grants are:
Mary Jane Weiss, Ph.D., BCBA, and Ivy Feldman, Ph.D., BCBA
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and the McCarton School
Building Tacting and Joint Attention Skills with the Use of an Augmentative Device
Rebecca P. F. MacDonald, Ph.D., BCBA, and William H. Ahearn, Ph.D., BCBA
New England Center for Children
Examination of Prerequisite Skills for Learning Using Video Modeling
Dennis H. Reid, Ph.D., BCBA
Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center, Ltd.
Training Paraprofessional Staff to Provide Proactive Support for Individuals with Severe Autism in Inclusive Settings
William G. Sharp, Ph.D., and David L. Jaquess, Ph.D.
The Marcus Autism Center
Feeding Problems among Children with Autism: The Impact of Parent Education in Modifying Aberrant Eating Habits
Jeffrey J. Wood, Ph.D. and Marilyn Van Dyke, M.A., CCC-SLP
University of California, Los Angeles, and The Help Group
Transporting Evidence-Based Practices from the Academy to the Community: School Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Daniel Openden, Ph.D., BCBA, and Christopher J. Smith, Ph.D.
Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center
Measuring the Effects of Training Parents to Provide Intervention via the Arizona Telemedicine Program
Paul T. Shattuck, Ph.D.
Washington University
Transition to Adulthood: Service Utilization and Determinants of Functional Outcomes
The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the 2009 Autism Research Competition is now available. Pre-proposals are due April 3, 2009. OAR will again consider funding one or two year studies with a maximum grant award of $30,000 per year. For complete RFP information, please visit www.researchautism.org/professionals/grants/application/index.asp. Abstracts and more information on each of these grants can be found at www.researchautism.org/professionals/funded/index.asp.
ABOUT OAR: The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) is a national, nonprofit organization formed and led by relatives of children and adults with autism and Asperger Syndrome. OAR is dedicated to promoting research that can be applied to help families, educators, caregivers, and individuals with autism find much-needed answers to their immediate and urgent questions. Committed to the excellence in its services to the autism community, OAR seeks to fund applied research that will make a difference in individual lives; provide information that is timely, useful, and cost-efficient; and offer opportunities for the autism community to collaborate and make advances together.
In its first six years, OAR has awarded more than $1,400,000 for applied research studies and published five community-friendly resource guides in its Life Journey through Autism guide series: A Parent’s Guide to Research, An Educator’s Guide to Autism, An Educator’s Guide to Asperger Syndrome, A Guide for Transition to Adulthood, and A Parent’s Guide to Assessment. Interested parties can download the guides for free from the OAR Web site.
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