The Integrated Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, or ICASD — it’s a long name and hard to say. The final words trail off or are altogether forgotten. Abbreviations help, but even then, everyone says it differently.
Still, no matter how you say it, each part of the ICASD name is central to who we are and who we want to be. We want to ensure that when individuals across the autism spectrum and their families receive our services, these services represent the highest standard of care, are informed by current research, and are delivered by clinicians who work together across disciplines to promote the best possible outcomes. One of the great strengths about the Munroe-Meyer Institute, and one of the factors that convinced me to take this position, is that there are so many disciplines represented under one roof, all of which are important for comprehensive patient care. This diversity of expertise is unique for a center and is an incredible aspect of our current care and our future potential.
In more than 20 years in the field of autism care and research, I’ve witnessed the evolution in our understanding of autism. The movie “Rain Man” raised our awareness of autism and gave us an example of the experience of one man and his family. While “Rain Man” does not represent the entire autism spectrum as we now know it, it gave us a place to start. We now know that the autism spectrum spans a very wide range of behaviors and is often associated with additional needs. An individual’s intervention team often involves professionals from multiple systems of care that support medical complexities, as well as developmental, behavioral, educational, and vocational skills, to name a few. As a result, our integrated approach must also involve collaboration with partners from these systems. We are all striving for a common goal: to meet the needs of the individuals and families whom we have the privilege of serving.
The cliche is, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” But our “I” is all about teamwork. I’m glad to be part of the team at MMI, and I’m looking forward to the great things we will do together.