University of Colorado Denver and The Children’s Hospital Named as Part of Nationwide Autism Treatment Network

Only 15 specialty sites in the U.S. and Canada are part of the network

For Immediate Release
Contacts: Tonya Ewers, UC Denver, 303.724.1520, tonya.ewers@uchsc.edu
               Natalie Goldstein, The Children’s Hospital, 720.777.3970, Goldstein.natalie@tchden.org

AURORA, Colo. (Dec. 13, 2007) – Autism Speaks, the nation’s leading autism advocacy organization, announced Wednesday its Autism Treatment Network (ATN) would triple in size, expanding from 5 sites to 15 sites across the United States and Canada. Among the new additions to the network are faculty at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and The Children’s Hospital. UC Denver and The Children’s Hospital are the only medical center and hospital included in the network in the Rocky Mountain region.

The network aims to develop common clinical standards for medical care for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to increase the pool of autism medical specialists through trainee mentorship and outreach to community-based physicians. As part of this effort, families receiving care at the sites can participate in a data registry that tracks children and adolescents receiving ongoing care at participating sites. The information in the database is a crucial part of developing the evidence to create and substantiate these clinical consensus standards.

“The expansion of the Autism Treatment Network provides an opportunity to improve the quality of care that children and youth in Colorado with autism receive,” said Cordelia Robinson, PhD, RN, director of the JFK Partners, a multifaceted interdepartmental program of the Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry of the UC Denver School of Medicine, and director of the Child Development Unit at The Children’s Hospital. “Being a part of this network will enable us to work with our colleagues in pediatric specialty areas including gastrointestinal, neurology sleep disorders and genetics to provide better health care and treatment to individuals with autism and their families.”

JFK Partners has strong collaborative relationships with numerous organizations that are a part of Colorado's developmental disability and special health care needs communities. The mission of JFK Partners is to promote the independence, inclusion, contribution, health, and well-being of people with developmental disabilities and special health care needs and their families through consumer, community, and university partnerships.

“JFK Partners’ mission revolves around a commitment to family and person-centered, community-based, culturally competent programs and services,” added Robinson. “The goals of the Autism Treatment Network align with what we are trying to accomplish locally and together, we will enhance care in Colorado for youth with autism.”

The principal investigators for the UC Denver and Children’s site include: Cordelia Robinson PhD, RN, professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Preventative Medicine and Director of JFK Partners at the UC Denver School of Medicine; Ann Reynolds, MD, assistant professor of Pediatrics at the UC Denver School of Medicine, and Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician in the Child Development Unit at The Children’s Hospital; and Susan Hepburn, PhD, assistant professor of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychologist, and Director of Research for JFK Partners for the Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders Research at the UC Denver School of Medicine.

The School of Medicine faculty work to advance science and improve care as the physicians, educators and scientists at University of Colorado Hospital, The Children’s Hospital, Denver Health Medical Center, National Jewish Medical and Research Center and the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The School is part of the University of Colorado Denver, one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uchsc.edu or the UC Denver Newsroom at www.uchsc.edu/news.

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