New Center for Autism Research to Open in Westchester County

A new treatment and research facility for autism is under construction in White Plains, New York.  The Center for Autism and the Developing Brain will be part of New York-Presbyterian Hospital.  The center broke ground on April 4 and will open in 2013.

The new facility will provide a wide range of clinical services to people living with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disorders.  The center is a collaboration between the hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Columbia University, along with the New York Center for Autism.  It will be located at New York-Presbyterian’s 214-acre White Plains campus.

Until the center opens, the hospital provides limited clinical services at a temporary location on the hospital grounds and offers ASD assessments through participation in their research studies.  When the permanent center opens, insurance will be accepted, including Medicaid in some situations.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the prevalence of autism is continuing to increase.  The CDC found that, in the communities they studied, the prevalence of autism had increased from one in 88, from one in 110.  Autism continues to be more prevalent in boys than in girls, with one in 54 boys and one in 252 girls in the research group being diagnosed with ASD.  It remains unknown whether the increase is due to more careful diagnoses or another factor.

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