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February 4, 2011
Serious about autism
Israel gets a new research and education centre.
KARIN KLOOSTERMAN ISRAEL21C
Everyone asked “Why Jerusalem?” when Joshua Weinstein decided to set up the first global research and education centre for autism in the Holy City. The American researcher, hailing from the icare4autism: International Centre for Autism Research and Education in New York (ICARE), who has opened schools and centres in both New York and Israel, had a simple answer: “Because it’s the capital of the world.”
There could not be a better place, he reasons. During the last conference held by icare4autism in Jerusalem, international speakers were excited to visit Israel. Weinstein now sees the location as an important selling point to attract fellows and autism research “stars” to a world centre.
As the famed Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, currently located on Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem, moves in 2013, ICARE is expected to take over its space.
While the new global headquarters of ICARE could have been anywhere in the United States, Jerusalem came to mind, he told reporters, because “it offers so much more…. People want to go there and be associated with a place they want to visit. It was a great idea in retrospect. Also, the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, jumped into the frame and became a catalyst for us and located a building on Mount Scopus.”
Barkat has said publicly: “We welcome icare4autism’s plan to create a global autism centre on Mt. Scopus, and we look forward to the breakthroughs in research that will emanate from its campus to benefit the entire world.” Donors to the centre are both private individuals and organizations.
Autism is a spectrum disorder (ranging from mild to severe) that afflicts as many as one in 100 people, making it highly likely that someone you know and love is affected, whether or not they know it. The new global research centre will be a one-of-a-kind venue that will tackle some of the major challenges associated with autism today, including better diagnosis in adults.
As well, the centre will be a state-of-the art research facility, a global platform for all researchers in the field, and it will also offer continuing education programs for teachers and researchers looking to advance in the field, including university-level courses on autism. The Jerusalem campus will house the world’s first university-level school of autism studies, with the aim of raising therapeutic standards worldwide. Currently, the centre is working on obtaining an official affiliation with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The centre will cover the latest advances in autism research, such as early detection methods, among its specialties, and a residency program is expected to be an additional draw.
“Millions of people are … suffering from autism … and there are more people aware of autism today than 10 years ago, thanks to different education programs. We plan on integrating all the systems that work,” said Weinstein.
Dominant channels of research will be comprehensive, from birth to adulthood, with a core focus on adults, he explained. His partner in this endeavor, Dr. Eric Hollander, hopes to establish a program that will put a strong focus on genetics and autism, “which may hold a lot of keys to a lot of mysteries” about the neural disorder, according to Weinstein.
Hollander, who is chair of ICARE’s advisory council, is a world-renowned psychiatrist on the faculty of the Montefiore Medical Centre at the University Hospital of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
And in line with the global trend, a multidisciplinary unit for therapists will look to art, music, and possibly even some joint projects with the Bezalel art school, to create innovative therapeutic interventions to combat autism. In addition, the Jerusalem centre is expected to include a radio and multi-media station so it can broadcast its efforts worldwide.
Weinstein has several master’s degrees, in subjects like business management and education. Now finishing up a PhD, he’s worked in the autism field for more than 15 years, and has founded the Shema Koleinu-Hear Our Voices School and Centre for Children with Autism, a school in New York that serves 1,000 people in the five boroughs. He also founded the Tishma – ABA School and Centre for Children with Autism in Jerusalem.
When icare4autism starts operating, Weinstein plans to set up parallel satellite centres in major hubs around the world so that research, insights and new clinical approaches can be channeled quickly to autism sufferers. The centres will feature ongoing residencies and exchange programs.
Israel21C is a nonprofit educational foundation with a mission to focus media and public attention on the 21st-century Israel that exists beyond the conflict. For more, or to donate, visit israel21c.org.
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