Vanderbilt University Medical Center has become an Autism Treatment Network (ATN) site — an elite designation in the field of autism treatment and research. The ATN is a network of 17 centers across North America supported by Autism Speaks and dedicated to improving medical care for children and adolescents with autism by offering comprehensive diagnosis, treatment, care and counseling.
As an ATN site, we facilitate access to coordinated care with a team of designated autism specialists that span the Vanderbilt medical community. Areas of emphasis include: gastroenterology, genetics and sleep disorders, but extensive care includes other medical conditions.
"Being part of the national Autism Treatment Network facilitates our naturally collaborative nature in the Medical Center to bring the highest level of care across medical disciplines for children with autism and their families,” said Elisabeth Dykens, Ph.D., director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.
ATN institutions benefit from access to standardized clinical protocols and assessments, and a community of autism physicians and behavioral specialists who develop and implement empirically derived treatment practices.
Vanderbilt may submit research proposals that utilize the ATN Research Repository national database, which provides for high quality data collection on well-characterized individuals across a variety of disciplines and for the development of treatment practice parameters.
The Principal Investigator of the Vanderbilt ATN is Beth Malow, M.D., M.S. Co-investigators are Nirupama Madduri, M.D., and Zachary Warren, Ph.D.
“The ATN brings together talented individuals from many disciplines — psychology, pediatrics, psychiatry, neurology and others — who share the common goal of creating standards of care for the diagnosis and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders,” said Malow, a professor of neurology and VKC investigator. “I am very excited to be part of this mission and to see our Vanderbilt site grow and develop.”
For more information about the Vanderbilt program, please us call toll-free at 1-877-ASD-VUMC , local phone 273-8862, or email us at autismresources@vanderbilt.edu.
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center © 2013
