Philanthropists Hope Gift Produces Developmental-Disorder Breakthrough

A private donation of $30 million has been made to the New York University (NYU) Child Study Center to establish a new facility known as the Asperger Institute.

The gift has launched two complimentary initiatives: $20 million to finance educational programs, clinical services, and cutting-edge research; and $10 million earmarked for a capital campaign for the university's new Center of Excellence in Child Mental Health.

The donors, Michael Statfeld Recanati and Ira Statfeld Recanati, were recognized as having made the “largest single contribution ever received by the center,” according to a statement from the center.

“We embraced the idea of the Asperger Institute because we saw the prospect for breakthrough research that would make dramatic, tangible improvements in the quality of life for families with children who have Asperger syndrome,” said Michael Statfeld Recanati in the statement. He and his partner, Ira Statfeld Recanati, serve on the board of the NYU Child Study Center.

Asperger syndrome (cited in DSM-IV-TR as “Asperger's disorder”) is believed to have a U.S. prevalence rate of 1 in 300 people, according to the statement. It's increasingly being described as a“ syndrome” by experts and lay people alike who view it as part of a spectrum of developmental disorders that includes autism.

“Children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome often have difficulty accomplishing early development tasks involving language, motor skills, communication, and socialization,” the statement read.

Lynda Geller, Ph.D., a specialist in autism spectrum disorders who served more than two decades on the faculties of Georgetown University and Stony Brook University medical schools, is the clinical director of the Asperger Institute. Her chief responsibilities at the institute are to develop an educational program for gifted students with Asperger syndrome in grades 8 to 12 and to develop a clinical program that will provide evaluations and treatment services for children, adolescents, and adults with Asperger syndrome or related conditions.

Geller told Psychiatric News that initially six to eight students will be recruited to enroll this fall in the launch of the program. She said that in addition to an innovative educational curricula, the program will provide specialized social, emotional, and learning support.

Institute staff will carry out its mission by collaborating with established world-class research scientists, as well as other NYU institutions.

More information about the Asperger Institute is posted at<www.aboutourkids.org/aboutus/programs/asperger.html>.▪