STRIVE: An Accountant’s Accounting

When St. Louis native Clayton Meuret first heard about the Thompson Center’s STRIVE program, he didn’t quite know what to make of it. Which isn’t a surprise; he was still very new to the idea of living on the autism spectrum. Clayton wasn’t diagnosed with ASD until he was 20 years old, much later in life than most of his peers on the spectrum.

“My lack of an early diagnosis really denied me the opportunity to receive help and resources growing up,” Clayton said.

a photo of Clayton Meuret — Clayton Meuret gives his final presentation during the STRIVE graduation, May 2019

The STRIVE program is a year-long job preparation program on the University of Missouri campus aimed at preparing young adults on the autism spectrum to begin life in the workforce.

Clayton, who already was a student at Mizzou, wasn’t sure if the program was something worth pursuing, but decided to take the leap with some guidance from his father.

“My dad said it was the last chance I would get to receive help for my condition before it would grant me labels that would impair my image later on in life,” Clayton said.

Unsure of what STRIVE would bring, Clayton made the decision to go for it.

“At first, I was a little embarrassed to be in the program,” Clayton said. “At times, I found myself thinking ‘I don’t belong here’. I convinced myself at times that I was too ‘high-functioning’ to be in such a program.”

“As time went on, however, I began to deconstruct that mindset. I began to like the program when I learned about the Theory of Mind and began to bond with my classmates once I realized that nobody was secretly out to “get me”. My old schema always assumed that everyone had ulterior motives that involved taking advantage of me.”

The STRIVE program consists of three primary components: weekly classroom instruction, a peer mentor who is a typically developing Mizzou student, and an internship opportunity with a local business or institution.

a photo of 3 STRIVE graduates, including Clayton, along with two instructors — The 2018-19 STRIVE graduating class.

Because Clayton currently is pursuing a master’s degree in accountancy, he was able to secure an internship at the central accounting office at Mizzou.

He credits both this internship opportunity as well as the valuable classroom interaction with the instructors and his STRIVE classmates for preparing him greatly for the post-graduate world.

“The support I got from my classmates and my instructors was the best part of the program. I often had the bad habit of using my close companions to vent all of my problems and emotional pain. They both made it clear that they wouldn’t have it, and not enabling me was the most constructive thing they’ve ever done for me.”

Freshly graduated from STRIVE, Clayton has grand plans to complete is graduate degree in accountancy, earn his CPA license and secure a job at either a large accounting firm or a smaller CPA firm. Grand plans that he attributes to his STRIVE preparation.

“I believe that STRIVE has done an excellent job at propelling me towards this goal,” Clayton said. “I didn’t think that this program was at my level when I came in, but the program has helped me in ways that I would never have dreamed it would.”

The STRIVE program runs throughout the academic school year and is currently accepting applications for young adults with autism for the 2019-2020 year. For more information about STRIVE, visit: https://thompsoncenter.missouri.edu/autism-training/strive/.

Thompson Center experts lead the way in Delaware

Newark, DE — Experts and other stakeholders in the Delaware autism community are taking action to improve diagnostic practices for autism, which has risen in prevalence by 80% in Delaware over the last decade. Delaware-specific guidelines will be created to ensure that diagnostic evaluations are informed by research and incorporate local resources and services. The process began with two days of training and workshops hosted by the Delaware Network for Excellence in Autism (DNEA). The events were led by Dr. Stephen Kanne, the executive director of the University of Missouri Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and a nationally known expert on diagnosis of ASD.

a picture of the group of autism experts in delaware — Delaware stakeholders and experts from the Thompson Center to discuss best-practice guidelines for autism evaluation and diagnosis.

Participating in a full-day workshop on the diagnostic evaluation process were specialists in neurology, psychiatry, psychology, speech-pathology and counseling, as well as a panel of family members who described their experiences receiving a diagnosis for their child – what went well, and what didn’t.

“As a parent of a child who has difficulty expressing herself, I’ve worked really hard to become her voice,” said Stephanie Kaznica of Hockessin, the mother of a five-year-old with autism who participated on the family panel. “I am truly hopeful that Delaware families can soon get the evaluations and services they need much earlier.”

A group of stakeholders, including Nemours/AI duPont Hospital for Children, the DNEA, the University of Delaware, Autism Delaware, the Delaware Division for Prevention and Behavioral Health, and the Delaware Department of Education, took part in a strategic planning discussion, facilitated by Dr. Kanne, on the creation of Delaware-specific guidelines for evaluating and diagnosing autism spectrum disorder.

“We had a very productive two days. There is tremendous enthusiasm in Delaware for creating more efficient and effective diagnostic processes for children with ASD,” said Emily Bernabe, PhD, BCBA, Clinical Director of Psychology for the Swank Autism Center at Nemours/AI duPont Hospital for Children.

With guidance from the Thompson Center’s Dr. Kanne and Kourtney Christopher, the group identified specific next steps including reviewing other states’ guidelines, establishing an expert panel, and connecting with leaders, families, and practitioners from across the state.

“We need more specialists in Delaware who utilize scientifically-based practices when assessing autism. Delaware-specific guidelines will lay out a clearer process for practitioners and help them understand the resources and services available in our state,” said Dr. Brian Freedman, interim director of the DNEA and associate director of the University of Delaware’s Center for Disabilities Studies, which houses the DNEA. “We were thrilled to host experts from the Thompson Center and take these critical next steps.”

About the DNEA and Autism Delaware

The Delaware Network for Excellence in Autism (DNEA) offers training, technical assistance, and information dissemination to community agencies, organizations and those directly impacted by autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To learn more about technical assistance and professional training opportunities sponsored by the DNEA or submit requests for specific training topics, contact the DNEA at: dnea-info@udel.edu; http://www.cds.udel.edu/autism-initiatives/dnea/.

Autism Delaware is a private statewide agency that provides resources and support to individuals and families affected by ASD. Its programs and services are supported by state contracts and generous donations from individuals and corporations across Delaware. More information is available at www.autismdelaware.org.

Innovation Through Experience; Solutions Through Creativity

Leaders at the MU Thompson Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders take pride in the fact that the Center is on the forefront nationally in autism treatment, research and training. But even national leaders can find ways to improve “business as usual” in order to maximize the service provided to patient families.

When seeking to innovate better solutions for existing problems, it can be effective to include minds outside of the existing structure who may be able to see things differently. Enter some of the brightest minds at MU.

One of the hallmarks of receiving an education at the University of Missouri has always been the opportunity to engage in hands-on, collaborative coursework with real-world applications. Case in point is a new experiential learning course, first offered in the spring of 2019 featuring MU honors students. This course was designed to allow students to work with real-world clients to solve actual problems. To help further it’s educational mission, as well as to potentially receive valuable feedback from some of MU’s star students, the Thompson Center agreed to partner with instructors to serve as the first client for the course.

“It was a remarkable opportunity for us to partner with these student teams and gain their fresh perspectives on various process improvement projects,” said Abby Powell, center administrator at the Thompson Center.

students give their final presentation — Members of the social media student team present their final solutions.

At the beginning of the semester, the students in the inaugural experiential learning class split into teams to tackle three unique problems posed by the Thompson Center: 1) How to better serve patient families through more efficient rooming processes; 2) How to better entertain and manage patients and their siblings during hours-long appointments; and 3) How to grow the social media footprint of the Thompson Center nationally.

The teams met with Thompson Center staff periodically throughout the semester to learn about their problems, the current Thompson Center operations, as well as to update staff on their progress.

“We wanted to use proven creative problem-solving approaches as a central driving force within our process,” said Jim Flink, co-instructor of the course. “For instance, it took us several class sessions to ensure we had correctly defined the parameters of the problems, painstakingly going over every word in our problem definitions. That kind of attention to detail will foster a better learning process and, we hope, better outcomes. Each step of the way, we checked with our client leads to make sure we remained focused on course.”

This process of learning how to problem-solve turned out to be valuable for both the students and the Thompson Center, who benefitted from the ultimate results of the progress.

“The thing I benefited the most from this type of class was learning how to be more creative in my problem-solving solutions,” said Emma Knopik, a student in the class. “For example, one day we were given 10 minutes and a myriad of children’s craft supplies in order to make a prototype of our solution. Having creative activities like this taught me the importance of removing oneself from the traditional problem-solving space in order to generate more interesting ideas.”

“The problems we were asked to solve for the center were complex,” Flink said. “So much of what we tried to arrive at with the Thompson Center had to lend itself to efficiency, protecting the integrity of the center’s relationship with its clientele, and in offering true value to patients, families, patient providers and other staff, all without interjecting ourselves or our solutions overtly into the process. In other words, we needed to offer seamless solutions that fit with what the TC is already doing so well.

By the end of the semester, all three groups had thoroughly researched their respective problems and performed multiple problem-solving exercises. At the end of the semester, the teams presented their proposed solutions to the Thompson Center staff.

“The final presentations were incredibly impressive,” Powell said. “You could really tell how thorough each team was with their research and exploration of different opportunities for improvement in their areas.”

MU and Thompson Center staff watch the presentations — Thompson Center staff and MU faculty ask questions of the students following their final presentations.

Recommendations from the teams included different ways to mark clinic rooms as empty, clean, dirty or in-use, such as remote-control lighting, a smartphone app and simple plastic flags. Another team created an entire social media plan including recommending posting styles and content based on the various social media platforms in use. The final team developed different styles of age-appropriate activity boxes for patients and their siblings who have to wait hours during long appointments.

“Working with a real-life business like the Thompson Center made this class more beneficial because, as we learned more about the Thompson Center and the high-quality work that they’re doing, it inspired our group to dig deeper into our research in order to provide the best information we possibly could,” said Knopik.

“The suggestions and recommendations made by the students were really innovative,” Powell said. “It really shows the value in having an outside voice approaching problems from a different perspective. We plan on exploring several of their proposals and look forward to future partnerships with experiential learning initiatives.”

The class instructors say working with the Thompson Center provided a valuable opportunity for their students to expand their skills.

“We hope to build on the success of our initial proposals through future interactions, but suffice it to say, our students are so proud to say they worked with the Thompson Center,” Flink said. “This is what experiential learning can be for both education and industry — a value proposition that brings together the strengths of both sectors for the betterment of the public at-large.”

The inaugural experiential learning course was co-instructed by Dr. Suzanne Burgoyne, a professor in the MU Theatre Department. This course is a part of a new movement at Mizzou, led by Trulaske School of Business Dean Dr. Ajay Vinze and MU College of Engineering Dean Dr. Elizabeth Loboa, among others. This movement has led to the creation of the MU Institute for Experiential Learning, Innovation and Entrepreneurism, which seeks to incorporate research and real-world learning at every step of the college experience.

Hilarity for Charity

It was yet another amazing night of hilarity for charity benefiting the Thompson Center when nationally renowned comedians Kathleen Madigan and Lewis Black, joined by their friend Jeff Stilson, performed to a packed Missouri Theatre on May 6. Check out some pictures from this incredible event that raised money and awareness for the Thompson Center!

Thompson Center Trainees Learn the “Value of Flexibility”

Last fall, the Thompson Center welcomed a record 13 psychology student trainees to learn and take part in diagnosing autism under the direct, clinical supervision of the center’s nationally recognized psychologists and neuropsychologists. Now several months into their training programs, several of those trainees and interns took time to tell us about their experiences working hands-on with children with special needs and what they have learned so far from working at a place like the Thompson Center.

From trainee Johanna Milord:

“The atmosphere at Thompson Center is very quiet, focused and client-oriented. Everyone is actively working on their tasks, creating a peaceful and conductive learning environment. As one walks through the halls or past the offices, staff often greet one another. This cordiality creates a comfortable environment for trainees to ask questions if needed. I feel the mutual respect in the space. There is a lighthearted feeling that exists and it truly feels as if everyone loves working hard. The most notable thing I have learned this year at the Thompson Center is how to better place the client’s needs first. Every person working or training at Thompson Center is a human being with unique needs and challenges — my supervisor and other staff members demonstrate how to try, to your utmost ability, to be there for patients 100 percent. Professionalism is not just a motto, it is an integral part of each staff member’s work. I am learning more about work as a calling this year working at Thompson Center. As the year progresses, I hope to learn more technical skills for the various clinics at TC and with various age groups. I understand there are several clinics and I may not be able to learn details at all, but I enjoy being exposed minimally to the work of some of them.”

From trainee Nick Neibergall:

“From the beginning of my training experience at the Thompson Center, I have felt like an integral member of the team. Full-time clinicians and staff do an excellent job of promoting academic/clinical rigor while maintaining a relaxed and inviting atmosphere. The Thompson Center also fosters a strong collaboration among clinicians of different professional backgrounds with researchers and scientists. Each day at the Thompson Center is unique and I feel continually challenged to further develop my professional identity and clinical skills. One of the most important lessons I have learned thus far is how to incorporate research and clinical practice. I have been impressed at the collaboration that occurs that simultaneously benefits both sides and the patients we serve. I have not been in any other training settings that integrates research and clinical practice so seamlessly. As a person who is interested in both science and practice this has been especially encouraging and motivating to me.”

From trainee Kelly Boland:

“I have had nothing but positive interactions with all staff, faculty, and graduate students at the Thompson Center. All of the clinics I have worked on have been very collaborative, with clinic supervisors wanting the input of every team member in helping conceptualize our cases. I always look forward to my days at the Thompson Center! One of my biggest takeaways from working at the Thompson Center is the value of flexibility. Test plans are often needing to be updated as new information is gleaned from family interviews, and technicians must be prepared to use multiple forms of motivation to help children put forth their best effort. I hope to gain more experience in drawing relationships between multiple information sources and data points on a child. For example, integrating information from a neurologists’ report with the youth’s behavioral and cognitive testing to help conceptualize his or her current state of functioning.”

Scanning for Sensitivity

Many children with autism experience hypersensitivity to visual, auditory or tactile cues such as bright lights, loud noises or hot, cold or vibrating objects. This hypersensitivity can make it difficult for children and families to experience new things, such as activities in loud, bright public places or eating new foods. In order to better understand these hypersensitivities in children with autism, Dr. Shawn Christ and a team of researchers at the University of Missouri Brain Imaging Center and Thompson Center are working to study the brains of children with autism.

Dr. Christ, the director of the MU Brain Imaging Center, an associate professor of psychology in the MU School of Arts and Science and an adjunct faculty with the Thompson Center, is working to identify biomarkers within the brain that may be related to these hypersensitivities.

“The brain is a system of networks that all have different focus and function,” Christ said. “One network that we are particularly interested in is called the ‘salience’ network. It is responsible for alerting us to the presence of salient stimuli in the environment and coordinating our response to such stimuli. We believe that the hypersensitivity experienced by some children with autism may be related to over-activation and involvement of this network. We want to study how this works by looking at the brain in action with our imaging technology.”

The researchers suspect that these hypersensitivities may also be related in some way to sleep issues, which between 50 and 80 percent of children with autism also experience. Research participants will be asked to keep a sleep diary during the study to compare how children with sensitivities sleep with children who do not have these sensitivities.

“Because neural networks are all interconnected, we think there is a good chance that sleep and hypersensitivity are intertwined in some sort of vicious cycle,” Christ said. “Perhaps hypersensitivity makes it harder for some children to sleep, which in turn makes them more sensitive due to exhaustion. We want to explore how the brain works in this way, which will go a long way in helping determine the best way to treat children with these issues.”

Once the researchers are able to identify biomarkers within the brain that indicate hypersensitivity and potential sleep problems, they hope to perform a follow-up study that includes sleep interventions for children with these sensitivities.

“The ultimate idea is that if we can address sleep problems in children with hypersensitivities, it may help improve those sensitivities,” Christ said. “However, we have quite a bit of research to do before we can get to that point.”

Christ and MU doctoral students Kelly Boland and Katherine Bellesheim are currently recruiting children ages 11-15 to participate in this study. Participants must be diagnosed with autism, but both children with and without hypersensitivities are needed. The study will consist of a short brain imaging session in an MRI machine as well as keeping a sleep diary for a short period of time. To participate or learn more, contact Kelly Boland at 573-884-8109 or kmbzv5@missouri.edu.

Growing from a SEED

Identifying what factors create risks for autism, as well as protect against autism, is one of the most important goals in the field of autism research. The Thompson Center is helping to advance this goal through its participation in the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) project.

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this national study seeks to gather a wide sample of data from children and families across the country, including families with children with autism, typically developing children, and children with other developmental disabilities.

The Thompson Center is beginning its second year as a part of the SEED project, which is in its third phase. By forming a valuable partnership with researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and Children’s Mercy Kansas City, the three research groups have created MO SEED, the sixth SEED site in the U.S.

When MO SEED first began last year, the collaborative group had the lofty goal of recruiting more than 350 participants from 22 counties across Missouri, with Thompson Center staff responsible for identifying and recruiting 117 of those families. In their first year, Thompson Center staff have already successfully completed data collection for 45 families in the project. This current phase of SEED lasts until 2020, so Thompson Center staff are more than 35 percent of the way to their goal, with two more years work left.

Because recruitment efforts are still underway throughout the country, there haven’t been any specific research results from this phase of the SEED project yet, but experts are confident that collecting so much valuable information will lead to groundbreaking discoveries in the future.

“One of the biggest challenges in the autism research field is being able to understand what factors, such as genetics and environmental changes, make children more at risk for developing autism,” said Dr. Stephen Kanne, executive director of the Thompson Center and SEED site principal investigator. “If we can understand these factors, as well as what factors might protect against autism, we potentially can give parents strategies for helping to reduce autism risk for future children, as well as develop better treatments for people with autism. The SEED project will go a long way toward gaining that understanding.”

The participation process for SEED includes a phone interview, written questionnaires, and for some families, a developmental assessment. This assessment will include play-based tests for the child, questions for the parents, a brief physical examination to collect information such as height, head size and saliva collection from the parents and child.

While participation in the SEED project is by invitation only based on certain demographic information, Thompson Center researchers encourage those contacted for the study to please respond, as participation is easy and greatly helpful. For more information about the project, visit mo-seed.org.

A Dynamite Database Shift

Faster. Cheaper. Easier. Three goals of any modern organization. When Thompson Center leaders first approached the idea of making a database change for the center, their primary goals were to allow for a faster clinic patient intake process that ultimately cost less money and was easier for everyone involved, especially patient families. What they got as a bonus was a flexible new system that accomplishes all of those goals while also providing a valuable resource for current and future research projects within the Thompson Center.

The previous database system used by the Thompson Center was operated by a third party company, cost tens of thousands of dollars a year and could take weeks or even months to update. Enter REDCap. The new REDCap database system adopted by the Thompson Center is already funded by the University of Missouri School of Medicine, which removes a large financial burden from the Thompson Center. This new system allows for an amazing amount of flexibility based on the needs of the Thompson Center.

While the initial motivation for upgrading the database system was to allow for an easier way for patient families to provide self-referrals online in order to more quickly and easily be seen by Thompson Center providers, it has soon become apparent that this new system will greatly increase the ease and efficiency for research as well.

“Many of our research studies look at specific data collected from our patients during their clinic visits, such as age, gender, diagnosis, etc.,” said Nicole Takahashi, head of the Thompson Center research core.

“This new system allows that data to be collected when families fill out their initial intake forms online, while previously that information was filled out on paper forms and then hand-entered into the system. This was a very expensive and time-consuming process. The REDCap system allows this information to be searchable and accessible instantly for researchers as soon as those forms are completed digitally, which will greatly improve how quickly we can perform this type of research.”

This new system will greatly improve the ease for which researchers can conduct initial pilot studies to determine if future research is warranted. For example, if a researcher wants to do a study on the differences in gender and IQ among children with autism between the ages of five and seven, they can easily find that data in REDCap, as opposed to a much longer process with the other system.

“This initial investigation is very important for the research process,” Takahashi said. “It will allow our researchers to determine if a line of research is worth pursuing further as well as provide them evidence to pursue grant funding from outside sources.”

An additional perk of the new REDCap system includes a better quality control system for the data itself.

“Because we manage the data in-house, we can be more confident that the data is accurate and understandable,” said Katie Bellesheim, a doctoral student at the University of Missouri who has been integral in the transition to REDCap. “Also, if there are any problems that arise with the data, we can make modifications to how that data is collected immediately ourselves, rather than submit a ticket, pay hundreds or thousands of dollars, and wait weeks for the change to be made offsite.”

The new REDCap system also makes it much easier for researchers to search for patient data for specific research questions.

“Because we manage the data ourselves through this system, we can be much more flexible and spontaneous about what kinds of questions we want to ask of the data and what kinds of searches we can perform quickly and easily,” Bellesheim said.

This increased efficiency will allow Thompson Center staff and faculty to spend less time waiting and more time performing potentially life-changing research on the causes of and treatments for autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. On the clinic side, it will also greatly decrease the cost of entering new patients into the system before they can be scheduled for clinic visits. Overall, REDCap has already proven to be a head above the old hat.

An Interest in Interests

People with autism have restricted and repetitive behaviors that can be characterized by intense interests or preoccupations in specific objects or topics. Often, having unusual preoccupations and specific interests can have both positive and negative impacts.

Sometimes specific and unique interests and preoccupations, such as fascination with lampposts, may interfere with a person’s social interactions and families often have difficulty managing the amount of time a child may spend on activities related to their interests. Many times, interests can also interfere with school functioning because a child may have difficulty attending to tasks that are unrelated to their interests.

In order to better understand how these focused interests affect people with autism, a team of researchers including Thompson Center clinical psychologist and MU assistant clinical professor Dr. Kerri Nowell, Thompson Center Executive Director Dr. Stephen Kanne, and MU doctoral candidate Courtney Jorgenson are investigating the type and impact of these focused interests and preoccupations in people with autism.

For their study, the researchers developed an online survey that was administered to individuals who are included in the SPARK dataset, which is a database of tens of thousands of families with autism from across the country. The researchers are completing the pilot stage of this study and have nearly 2000 surveys completed by families across the country.

In addition to describing the types of interests and preoccupations people with autism have, the team was interested in investigating differences across age and gender. Some previous research suggested that a reason females with autism are not identified as frequently or as early as males is because they can blend in socially more easily, and may have more “socially appropriate” circumscribed interests such as art or drawing. However, Nowell says the most surprising finding based on a preliminary analysis is that there appear to be fewer differences in interests and preoccupations across gender than anticipated.

“It is important to recognize that there may be beneficial aspects of these interests and preoccupations,” Dr. Nowell said. “For example, some individuals with autism have reported that it can help social interactions with other people who share their interests, such as talking about sports or cars. In depth knowledge of a topic may also help with career development, and there is some evidence that having circumscribed interests is associated with a reduced risk of mood and anxiety difficulties.

“This project is exciting for many reasons, not least of which is the researchers’ use of the SPARK research matching program,” said Nicole Takahashi, head of the Thompson Center research core. “This is one of the first research projects to make use of the enormous network of families with autism that is being formed by SPARK project and we have already seen great benefits to being able to connect with thousands of families interested in participating in autism research. This will be the first of many future Thompson Center research projects that take advantage of this amazing resource.”

Nowell says they plan on continuing to modify the survey used within the study based on participant feedback and administer the improved measure to a larger population in the future.

Researcher Spotlight: Dr. David Beversdorf

Who: Dr. David Beversdorf, William and Nancy Thompson Endowed Chair of Radiology, professor of radiology, neurology and psychology, MU School of Medicine.

Bio: Dr. Beversdorf grew up in Bloomington, IN and received his bachelor’s and medical degrees from Indiana University. Dr. Beversdorf has been on the University of Missouri faculty and has been involved with the Thompson Center since 2008.

What are your research Interests?

“My Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory currently is investigating autism, dementia, the cognitive effects of stress, the cognitive neuroscience of problem-solving ability, functional neuroimaging, and pharmacological modulation of cognition. We have a particular interest in the neuropsychopharmacology of autism. This is the study of the neural mechanisms that drugs act upon to influence behavior. We focus on the role of the noradrenergic system, which is a system in the brain and body that functions as a hormone and neurotransmitter. We also are involved in the search for biomarkers that relate to autism treatment response, including imaging markers, to identify which types of patients will respond to which treatments.”

How did you first get involved with autism research?

“I have always been interested in how we think— our higher cognitive function. Then I learned about autism, and in many cases, their thinking is excellent, but they still struggle in society. At first I was interested in why that occurred, and later, what can we do to help improve those challenges.”

What one thing do you hope to discover or understand better by the end of your career?

Ultimately, I would like to help lead us to a better understanding of how autism breaks down into meaningful subgroups that are helped by specialized treatment approaches for those subgroups. In addition, I would like to characterize some of these particular subtypes of autism (such as prenatal stress exposure history) to understand in greater detail how to help these specific groups. I also want to characterize particular treatments and understand which subtypes of autism respond to that treatment.”

What motivates you to work so hard in this field?

“Our patients—I want to bring benefits that help them as much as possible.”