The first grant realized from this partnership comes from The Autism Science Foundation (ASF)
(Cherry Hill, N.J.) – Bancroft and A.J. Drexel Autism Institute have formed a research partnership, bringing together two powerful organizations with a goal of improving the lives of people living with autism. The research partnership will focus on healthcare and explore relationships between medical outcomes and autism. The first grant through this partnership was awarded by The Autism Science Foundation (ASF) to examine the relationship between self-injurious behavior and medical conditions in people with profound autism.
Giacomo Vivanti, Ph.D. from Drexel was the grant application principal investigator and it was co-written by Tracy Kettering, Ph.D., BCBA-D from Bancroft, both leading researchers in the field of autism and behavioral science. The funded study will examine the relationship between medical conditions and self-injurious behaviors, and assess the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of new ways to create successful healthcare visits for people with profound autism.
ASF, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding innovative autism research and supporting families facing autism, awarded four grants in its inaugural round of funding for projects addressing profound autism. The other awardees were: Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Yale University.
“This is incredibly important research that will improve the lives of people with profound autism,” says Kettering. “For this population, basic medical care can be out of reach for a variety of reasons causing behaviors that could be prevented if underlying needs were met. Bancroft and our partners at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute would like to change that.”
“This project is critical because it focuses on a neglected population within the autism spectrum, those who have medical conditions but often have limited access to medical care” states Dr.Vivanti. “By engaging with this population, examining their needs, and testing new ways to address them, we will learn new strategies to improve their well-being.”
The grant from ASF is just a first step in a partnership between Bancroft and A.J. Drexel Autism Institute that is aimed at changing lives for those in the autism community through research.
