A quarter century ago, the Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorder (TRIAD) was established within the Department of Pediatrics by Wendy Stone, PhD, a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) member and professor of Pediatrics, Psychology and Human Development, to meet community outreach and intervention needs and connect faculty performing research in autism.
“25 years ago, we lacked the fundamental capacity to recognize and serve autistic children and their families across communities, clinics, and schools, said Zachary Warren, PhD, TRIAD executive director. “And scientifically we were very far away from understanding the neurodevelopmental underpinnings of autism and optimal lifespan support.
Since it began, thousands of children with autism spectrum disorders and their families throughout and beyond Tennessee have benefited from TRIAD’s cutting-edge information, assessment and treatment, support and interventions.
On Tuesday, Oct. 29, VKC TRIAD will celebrate 25 years of research, training and service with a special virtual event from 6 to 7:30 p.m. featuring TRIAD leaders past and present. Register here for the Zoom link.
Hosted by TRIAD co-directors Pablo Juárez, MEd, and Alacia Stainbrook, PhD, and moderated by Warren, the event features three guest speakers: Stone, professor of psychology, University of Washington; Pat Levitt, PhD, former VKC director and current senior vice president and director of the Saban Research Institute, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; and Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, MD, former medical director of TRIAD and current director of the division of child & adolescent psychiatry, New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University.
“This 25th anniversary milestone is an important one for several reasons, including recognition of the many passionate and dedicated people that built it to what it is today, the broader research and dissemination impacts of TRIAD’s innovative approaches on national and international scales, and the tremendous institutional support we’ve received for this work from the Vanderbilt communities to continue to broaden the vision and scope of our work across Tennessee and beyond,” said Juárez.
“Most importantly, though, recognizing this milestone brings the spotlight to the thousands of people served by TRIAD through diagnostic assessments, clinical services and community-based service and education programs. We couldn’t be prouder to be of service, especially to those right here in Tennessee.”
Over the past quarter century, TRIAD has accomplished the following milestones and more:
- In 1999, Stone and colleagues developed the Screening Tool for Autism in Two-Year-Olds that allowed TRIAD and VUMC providers to identify children with autism at earlier ages and qualify them for early intervention services.
- In 2005, TRIAD partnered with the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development to develop larger and more integrated autism research, training and clinical programs.
- Families First Program was created in 2008, offering free workshops for caregivers of young children newly diagnosed with autism.
- An online learning platform was launched in 2017 to offer free training and webinars, reaching underserved populations in rural areas of Tennessee.
- In 2020, TRIAD psychologists, clinicians and researchers created TELE-ASD-PEDS, a telemedicine-based autism evaluation tool for young children and toddlers.
A big part of the celebration conversation will focus on concerns and hopes for the future of autism research. According to Stainbrook, TRIAD will continue to focus on sustainability and innovation across their service, education and research programming.
“Sustainability is important, particularly for statewide service and education programs, which is most often — and strategically — embedded within existing state systems. This allows us to work with state and local leaders across Tennessee to ensure the programs we’re developing provide the most effective and efficient models of service delivery for the people that need them,” Stainbrook said.
“One important avenue we’re beginning to address with state partners is identifying gaps in services and education that exist in the gray areas, which sometimes develop where state departments draw critical lines. We’re bringing light to these areas and working with numerous state departments and partners to eliminate those gaps. With regards to research, TRIAD has long been a leader in diagnostic assessment, and this focus will remain. We will also continue to broaden the scope of our research initiatives to include community-based service and education programs, as well as national and global initiatives.”