Overview

The Seaver and New York Autism Center of Excellence, funded by a major grant from the Seaver Foundation since 1993, and recognized in 2003 by NIH as an Autism Center of Excellence, is dedicated to unraveling the biological causes of autism and related disorders, and developing effective treatments for autism.

The Center's interdisciplinary approach to the study of autism includes family/genetic studies, brain imaging studies, and biological, autoimmune, neuropsychiatric, and psychosocial and medication treatment studies. The Center offers an integrated series of unique programs ranging from clinical care to neurobiology to genetic studies. Our commitment to understanding autism ranges from the whole family and continues through the very molecules that make up genes.

In 2003, the Center was named a Center of Excellence by the NIH and awarded a grant as part of the Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment (STAART) Centers Program initiative. Mount Sinai is one of the eight centers in the program. STAART aims to advance knowledge in understanding and treatment of autism through collaborative projects, such as multisite clinical trials.

Facilities

The clinical facilities at the Seaver Autism Research Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine comprise approximately 3000 square feet of office space. Two dedicated rooms and three clinicians' private offices provide space for patient evaluation and treatment and are equipped with audio and videotaping apparatus. Large and small conference rooms are also available for staff meetings and presentations. Assessment instruments, testing supplies, patient records and medical supplies are stored at the Seaver Center. Lab procedures and physical examinations are conducted at the General Clinical Research Clinic (GCRC) at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. The GCRC is a National Institute of Health (NIH)-funded unit with 8 inpatient beds and 8 outpatient beds. It provides a highly trained and committed full-time staff of nurses and technicians using sophisticated support/laboratory services.

Recruitment

The Seaver Center receives over 600 new referrals each year for research and/or clinical services, 100 contacts per month, including patients enrolled in ongoing treatment, 50 new referrals per month and 50 contacts per month with established patients. Many agencies that provide services for children and adults with developmental disabilities also collaborate with the Seaver Center.

YAI/NIPD: The Seaver Center has established a formal affiliation with the YAI-MIPD service organization in New York. YAI-NIPD is a large organization providing services for people with developmental disabilities from birth to end of life. They are the largest early intervention providers in the NY city area and their services include but are not limited to psychiatric care, medical care, dental care, home care and Respid, family support services, transitional issues, residential and employment services for adults and day and Rehabilitation services. As part of this affiliation, the Seaver center trains a psychiatry fellow for YAI in diagnostic assessments and treatment protocols, in an effort to bridge the gap between research findings and clinical practice. In return, YAI-NIPD actively recruits patients for the research protocols at the Seaver and NY Autism Center of Excellence. Both organizations run joint outreach and educational programs.

FEGS: FEGS is an organization providing services for adults with schizophrenia and autism. The Seaver Center has an affiliation with this organization that involves training a postdoctoral psychology fellow in diagnostic assessment for autism, and developing a cognitive remediation program to improve executive function abnormalities. In return, Seaver Center staff is invited to recruit subjects from FEGS to participate in studies of autism involving adults.

School Collaborations: The Seaver center has close relationships with the NY Board of Education and is collaborating with multiple schools educating children with autism within this system.

UJA: The United Jewish appeal federation of NY offers a variety of services for children and adults with developmental disabilities. In collaboration with UJA, the Sever center is running a network of CBT based social skills groups for children and adolescents with autism. Some of the sites participate in a controlled study of this curriculum for this program. In addition, the Seaver center staff recruits subjects for research protocols within this organization.

CAN/NAAR/Autism speaks: The Seaver center maintains close relationships with advocacy organizations. Both CAN and NAAR have shared their mailing lists with us and have sent mass mailing to their lists to assist with recruitment. Lately both organizations advertise for the Seaver studies on their websites and publications.