When a child is diagnosed with autism, developmental delay, or intellectual disability, it can be difficult to know where to turn. Parents are concerned and are looking for answers, but they are sent from one specialist to the next in a seemingly endless shuffle of doctor's office visits.
The lack of continuity of care can be especially daunting for low-income families who face additional barriers in access to informed diagnostic evaluations and medical support, sometimes waiting years for their child to receive accurate diagnoses of neurodevelopmental or genetic disorders.
Genetic testing is now recommended for all children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, which has led to the diagnosis of many rare genetic conditions. Up to 25% of children with a neurodevelopmental disorder have an identified genetic cause.
Unfortunately, there are major obstacles to the clinical care of these children, including (1) knowledge gap about these conditions, (2) limited access to specialists that understand neurogenetic and neurodevelopmental disorders, and (3) financial barriers to specialty clinical care and cutting edge diagnostics.
Through the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART), the Care and Research in Neurogenetics (CARING) Clinic is a multidisciplinary clinic that evaluates and treats children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders that have a suspected or determined genetic cause. This unique model provides comprehensive evaluations from a team including neurology, psychiatry, genetics, social work, and clinical psychology. These experts collaborate on personalized plans for treatment or therapies, enabling the CARING team to build stronger relationships with patients, work more effectively and, most importantly, results in improved clinical outcomes for long-term treatment.
Though there may not be a “cure” for most neurogenetic disorders, there are a variety of therapies, medications, and resources that can help these individuals master life skills and thrive. With your support, CARING will be able to continue to provide specialized care and assistance for patients with these very complex conditions who don't have the ability to pay out of pocket or through their insurance providers. Plus, your gift will make the overall experience for family members more comfortable and less of a financial burden.
Here are some of the ways that your gift can make a difference:
World renowned scientists, innovative clinical services, ground breaking research, active community engagement all work together to make CARING a comprehensive treatment resource.
At first consultation, the patient receives a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary evaluation from a team of neurologists, child psychiatrists and geneticists. Further specialty consultation and behavioral assessments can be provided as needed. This clinic also provides opportunities for participating in longitudinal studies that lay a foundation for future clinical trials for rare disorders. Additionally, the clinic ties eligible children into a variety of research studies and treatment opportunities through UCLA CART (Center for Autism Research and Treatment) and IDDRC (Intellectual Development and Disabilities Research Center).
If you do not wish to receive further fundraising information from UCLA Health Sciences, please either call us at (855) 364-6945 or email us at OptOutUCLAHSD@support.ucla.edu, providing your name, address, phone number and from which department you’re requesting to be removed.
Los Angeles traffic can be tricky, and so can parking. Your gift of $25 can provide an entire day of parking for a family visiting the CARING Clinic. It makes a big difference for a family who is struggling financially.
Families visiting the CARING Clinic usually spend 3-4 hours at our Los Angeles office. Your gift of $50 can help make their waiting a little more comfortable by providing snacks and refreshments for the family members who visit our clinic.
Hotel stay for traveling families visiting the clinic. This would enable families to participate in research studies during their stay as well.
CARING works every day to educate families and other medical professionals about their trials, therapies, and research findings. Your donation of $500 can be used to expand community outreach efforts in under-served communities and will ultimately ensure that we can see more and more patients.
44% of the patients who arrive at the CARING Clinic have had no formal genetic testing. Your generous donation will allow CARING to sponsor first-line genetic testing, that is indicated for patients with neurodevelopmental conditions, for 1 patient whose insurance doesn't cover genetic testing and whose family cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket.