The ITA field is currently experiencing exponential growth, and has begun to make significant contributions to the lives of individuals with autism by enabling important scientific discoveries and bringing useful products to market for both treatment and diagnosis and simply to make learning and activities of daily living easier for people with autism. While other organizations are emerging to assist in these activities, AS-ITA continues to be the primary source of leadership, networking, research dissemination, and support, with many other organizations requesting AS-ITA's help and collaboration in establishing their own ITA agendas and policies. By developing methods to better serve these needs, AS-ITA can continue to play this leadership role, which will not only help to solidify and make the ITA community more effective, rigorous, diverse, and self-sufficient, but will assure that individuals with autism receive the highest possible standards of care. Our researchers are now more than ever in need of continued funding as well as on-going education, and as an initiative at Autism Speaks we are looking to further educate researchers and clinicians through courses and workshops connect researchers with the funding, networking and support opportunities available through foundations, non-profits, industry and government. Please contact us at ita@autismspeaks.org with any information or support opportunity you would like to post.
Technology Grants Submission: How you can submit a grant now…
To submit a grant, please be sure to include the keyword "Technology" or "Innovative Technology" in your submission so that appropriate reviewers from the ITA committee can be assigned. Appropriate grant initiatives include Treatment, Pilot (one year) or Pre / Postdoctoral Fellowship. For more information, please visit the Autism Speaks' grants page.
All proposals must be submitted online via Autism Speaks grants administration system. System access instructions are found in each RFA.
Questions? Contact ITA@autismspeaks.org.
In 2008, ITA awarded more than $400,000 in new research grants to develop innovative assistive, educational, therapeutic and diagnostic technologies for persons with autism; view them here: 2007 Innovative Technology for Autism (ITA) Grants.
Selected Autism Speaks Grantees Biographies and links:
| Gregory Abowd Georgia Tech University 2006 Award, 2005 Award |
Lois Black University of Washington 2008 Award |
| Justine Cassell Northeastern University 2006 Award |
Gillian Hayes University of Southern California 2007 Award |
| Felecia Hurewitz Drexel University 2006 Award |
James Laffey University of Missouri 2008 Award |
| Corinna Lathan Anthrotronix 2005 Award |
Dominic Massaro UC Santa Cruz 2001 Award |
| Brian Roark University of Washington 2007 Award |
Shrikath Narayanan University of Southern California 2008 Award |
| Nilanjan Sarkar Vanderbilt University 2007 Award |
Cheryl Trepagnier Catholic University 2005 Award |
| Ilene Schwartz University of Washington 2006 Award |
Patrice (Tamar) Weiss University of Haifa 2007 Award |
