Autism Science Foundation Grant will Expand Literacy Intervention to Include a Broader Diversity of Children

(October 8, 2019 — New York, NY)—The Autism Science Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to funding autism research, today announced that it would grant an Accelerator Award to Dr. Veronica Fleury, of Florida State University.  The award will enable Dr. Fleury to expand her Department of Education-funded project, which delivers a literacy intervention to improve reading and vocabulary in preschoolers with autism, to include an additional 20 children specifically from Title 1, low-resource schools.

“Families in underserved communities, including those from ethnic and racial minorities and those with lower socioeconomic status, are often left out of autism research studies”, said ASF’s Chief Science Officer, Alycia Halladay, PhD.  “This hinders the generalizability of interventions across different settings. Many of ASF’s new efforts are specifically targeted at ensuring that a broader diversity of families are included in research.”

The Accelerator grant mechanism is intended to enable researchers to expand the scope or increase the efficiency of currently funded projects and thereby increase the value or speed up the delivery of results to families.

The Autism Science Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Its mission is to support autism research by providing funding to scientists and organizations conducting autism research. ASF also provides information about autism to the general public and serves to increase awareness of autism spectrum disorders and the needs of individuals and families affected by autism. To learn more about the Autism Science Foundation or to make a donation, visit www.autismsciencefoundation.org.

Contact Information:

Julie Berger

jberger@autismsciencefoundation.org