SOM: Understanding the Spectrum 

This collaborative presentation will look at the work taking place at UCR with autism: from groundbreaking neurodevelopmental research on Fragile X as well as educational programs like SEARCH Family Autism Resource Center (SEARCH = Support, Education, Advocacy, Resources, Community, Hope) that address the family context of children with intellectual disabilities.

 Dr. Ethell will explore the research aspect: the epidemiology, history, genetics, preclinical and clinical work on Fragile X Syndrome, most common genetic cause of autism. She is orienting her presentation to a lay-audience, so her compelling information will be described in understandable terms! She and her team have had some recent discoveries on audio stimulation (as you know, a major trigger) and she will discuss that further – a recent press release on that work is here: https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2019/11/06/not-so-quiet-please

 Dr. Blacher is exploring the educational aspect: programs that help with children on the spectrum, including her groundbreaking work with the SEARCH center: https://searchcenter.ucr.edu/staff.html