News and Knowledge

At the annual meeting of OAR’s Scientific Council in Columbus, Ohio, last month, we conducted the final review of research proposals submitted through our annual Applied Research Competition. Starting with a record 148 proposals back in April, we ended up with 27 to consider at our meeting. After almost a full day of examination, discussion, and evaluation, we identified six studies fully deserving of funding.

My immediate thoughts at the end of the meeting weren’t on the new studies or our annual research review process. As I leaned back and looked around the room at my colleagues on the Scientific Council, the members of the Board of Directors who came to observe, and the OAR staff that worked constantly behind the scenes, I said to myself, “What a remarkable group this OAR team is!”

I’ve been part of OAR since early 2002, when Jim Sack, chairman of the OAR board of directors, and Mike Maloney, executive director, drove to Baltimore, took me to a bar, and signed me on as chairman of the Scientific Council, putting in place the three-man team that still guides OAR today. That day in Baltimore, they asked me to do two things: recruit a first-class scientific advisory group and initiate a process to identify and fund research that had meaning and potential impact for individuals with autism and their families. Then they gave me the freedom and support to do both.

The response from my professional friends and colleagues was immediate and enthusiastic. They loved OAR’s mission, shared its vision, and wanted to be part of it. Within three months, 11 of those colleagues, most nationally known, representing some of the best and brightest academic, research, and clinical minds in the country, had joined the Council. Remarkably, until this year, eight of the original group continued to serve some 14 years later.

Today, the Council numbers 17, six of whom are original members, and includes an internationally and nationally acclaimed self-advocate, three members who were first OAR-funded researchers, and a representative from the National Institute of Mental Health. The Council members’ common purpose from the beginning has been to offer their time and talent in support of OAR for no benefit other than to improve the quality of life for individuals with autism and those who give them love and support.

My message as we celebrate OAR’s 15^th birthday this month is one of admiration and gratitude for this group of men and women who have contributed so much to OAR and the autism community. That admiration and gratitude extends to the hundreds of autism professionals and researchers who have supported OAR’s research process as adjunct reviewers.

With the six new grants just approved, we passed a new benchmark. OAR will now have funded 220 new research studies totaling more than $3.6 million since 2002. I would be very proud to stop here and say, “Happy holidays! On to 2017!” if that were the whole story.

But there is more, quite a bit more. From that first meeting in the bar with Jim and Mike, it was clear that our mission wasn’t in the research itself, but in what research could do to inform the community in a manner that would change lives. For that reason, as we incrementally supported a growing body of applied research studies each year, we also committed to developing resources that would help parents, teachers, self-advocates, and others deal with the daily challenges of autism.

When you visit OAR’s new website (which will launch soon), you will find the wide array of OAR resources developed in part by members of our Scientific Council and many other experts within the autism community. They will be available on full display and readily accessible — from the eight guides in the Life Journey Through Autism series to the Autism in the Schoolhouse initiative with its Kit for Kids and Curriculum in a Box to unique resources for siblings and military families impacted by autism. Collectively, they represent 15 years of purposeful dedication to the cause and the community, or as I see it, 15 years of excellence.

As I scan the list, I am struck with the same thought I had as I leaned back in my chair at the end of last week’s Scientific Council meeting, “What a remarkable group this OAR team is!” I am proud to be part of it. Happy holidays! On to 2017!