ANN ARBOR—Catherine Lord, director of the University of Michigan Autism and Communication Disorders Center (UMACC), will discuss educational intervention for children with autism at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 25 in the Oliphant Marshall Auditorium of the Kellogg Eye Center. Her lecture is free and open to the public.

One of the nation’s foremost experts on autism, Lord will speak on “Early Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The National Academies of Science 2001 Report.” Her lecture is the first in a 2001-2002 series on the topic of autism sponsored by the University’s Institute for Human Adjustment.

Lord’s presentation should be of special interest to educators and clinicians as well as parents of children with autism. Professionals characterize autism as a spectrum of complex developmental disorders that result in problems communicating or interacting with others.

Lord chaired the National Research Council committee that issued the report on the effectiveness of early education for young children with autism. The National Research Council (NRC) is the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

The NRC report, to be released in book form this month, emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis because “prompt educational intervention is the key to greater progress in children’s mastery of fundamental communication, social, and cognitive skills.”

Government agencies should promote routine early screenings of children for autistic spectrum disorders, the committee recommends. “As soon as children are recognized as having any autistic spectrum disorder they should receive intensive intervention,” said Lord. The report further recommends that state and federal policy-makers develop coordinated strategies to help local school districts and parents pay for these intervention programs.

In addition to director of the UMACC, Lord also is a professor of psychology and senior research scientist for the University’s Center for Human Growth and Development. Her longitudinal studies of young children with autism have provided significant insights into the nature of their social and behavioral deficits.

Lord has served on the faculties of the University of Chicago and Harvard University (Children’s Hospital) among other institutions. She has collaboratively developed instruments for the diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders and the quantification of social, communication, and behavioral features associated with autism and related developmental disabilities.

The Kellogg Eye Center is at 1000 Wall St. in Ann Arbor and the Oliphant Marshall Auditorium is on the first floor of the center. For more information, call Ann Telfer, Community Relations, IHA (734) 647-1551 or e-mail atelfer@umich.edu or Kathryn Baron, UMACC, (734) 936-8600.

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