Tailor Institute to receive grant for autism research

A Southeast Missouri not-for-profit group will soon receive a $200,000 grant for autism research. The money awarded to the Cape Girardeau-based Tailor Institute will come from the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

Dr. David Crowe heads the institue, which is named for his 24-year-old son, Taylor, who is autistic. Dr. Crowe said he hopes this money will allow the institute to become the foremost research facility in the world studying high-functioning autism.

"Autism is what's called a spectrum disorder," said Crowe. "There is a broad spectrum of ability and disability within it. It can range from the low-functioning end which can include mental retardation or mute autistics all the way to some who are of genius level intellect, but still have social difficulties consistent with autism."

Crowe said the Tailor Institute will focus on the high end of the spectrum with a 90-day research period that will create a model program designed to first define the syndrome and then help sufferers of autism become productive members of society.

"There are so many social issues that people don't understand," said Crowe. "The potential for misunderstandings in the workplace are everywhere. So this is a real challenge and it's something that has never been done before, but what I've told legislators is that if we can take some of these individuals and create for them the ability to be employed and be tax payers rather than wards of the state, the program will pay for itself."

The institute, said Crowe, is generating excitement. "This is really such a cool thing because its never been done before. A percentage of these individuals have islands of ability and giftedness," he said. "We said let's take a systematic, careful look at these individuals to see if we can't tap into their full potential."

Crowe said he has received phone calls from people as far away as England and Australia who are eager to get the results of his research.

Debby Rushin, whose 12-year-old son Ben is high-functioning, said a program like this one would be invaluable for them. "Sometimes kids like Ben, they can handle themselves and function so they get left by the wayside," she said. "It would have been nice [when Ben was younger] to have a place where we could meet other parents and he could interact with kids and we could exchange stories of what works and doesn't work."

Rushin said Ben is now fully functional, is on the honor roll and competes in wrestling.

Autism affects 1 out of 166 people, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

---

On the Net:

www.tailorinstitute.org