ANN ARBOR, Mich—While the number of children diagnosed with autism has increased tenfold over the past decade, the University of Michigan’s new Autism and Communicative Disorders Clinic is breaking new ground in the quest for a cure. Catherine Lord, the center’s director, is a nationally known pioneer in autism research and is profiled in the most recent issue of Michigan Today. Early intervention for the disorder, now found in as many as one of every 200 children, leads to better treatment and the center is helping to better identify and assist children with autism, she says. Lord played a key role in learning how to properly diagnose two-year-olds a decade ago. She is confident the University’s research will make it routine to diagnose autism for children just 18 months old or sometimes even younger. "I’m confident we’ll figure out how to identify the disorder that early," she said. Lord developed the current diagnostic instruments, an interview scale and an observation scale, in 1989, updated it in 1994 and plans to issue an improved refinement this year. Lord says it’s debatable whether autism can be cured but her focus is on prevention. Eventually, genetic testing and therapy may offer the primary scientific approaches to autism, Lord said. Until that time, psychological diagnosis and therapy will continue to dominate. Read the full article: www.umich.edu/news/MT/03/Win03/victories.html

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Catherine Lord, Ph.D.

www.umich.edu/news/MT/03/Win03/victories.html