Scroll down to read about what FARR has done with our contributions thus far

The Mission of FARR

FARR’s mission is to “raise the bar” and re-define achievable goals for children and adults with autism. Current estimates are that 1 in 166 children will receive a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (which includes Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder). With current treatments and educational programs many of these children are expected to speak and to eventually make good academic progress. But, the devastating effects of Autism will remain throughout their lives and will constitute a major impediment to a quality of life for all but a small minority of those afflicted.

Even after years of intensive treatment, estimates are that at most 10% are expected to gain full-time employment and less than 5% are projected to live independently. Friendships and relationships outside of the immediate family are rare and marriage is almost unheard of. Debilitating anxiety, hopelessness, unemployment, or marginal employment and isolation are still the norm for adults with this disorder.

It is the strong belief of FARR that people on the autism spectrum can learn to overcome their challenges and successfully manage their lives in real-world dynamic, complex environments. We believe that, with the development of proper remediation methods, many if not most people on the autism spectrum can, with proper help, attain productive, self-supportive employment, independent living and meaningful emotional relationships.

To accomplish this ambitious mission, resources must be focused on developing effective educational tools and programs that address abilities previously considered out-of-reach for people with autism, specifically flexible thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, perspective-taking, learning from past experience, planning and future thinking, emotional self-regulation, and experience-sharing communication. While other autism-related foundations are funding massive genetic and biological research programs which may have benefits to future generations, FARR seeks to provide the means for current children, teens and adults with ASD to have productive, fulfilling lives.

FARR advocates for and supports the development of effective educational programs related to the specific cognitive, emotional and social deficits which continue to present overwhelming obstacles to a quality of life, for the vast majority of people on the autism spectrum. FARR is specifically interested in scientific and educational efforts that seek to do the following:

• Instruct and empower parents and family members to help their children reach their potential
• Provide parents with tools needed to maintain quality of life for the entire family
• Develop educational curriculums, focusing on remediating core autism deficits, that can be transferred to school settings
• Develop consensual standards for defining and evaluating successful intervention, based upon reducing the degree to which autism impacts quality of life
• Identify and build abilities that are direct foundations for future quality of life
• Develop cost-effective methods providing affordable access to effective remediation to all families, regardless of their economic circumstances.

What FARR Has Planned for 2009

In planning for our 2009 Tournament, we have been in contact with Dr. Steven Gutstein, Director of FARR, to discuss the direction that FARR plans to take over the next year.  His area of upcoming focus is very exciting to us, as we are parents of a child with autism as well as two neurotypical triplet siblings.  He would like to support research that examines what we call the "Guided Participation Relationship" and how this relationship is affected by the autism.  In other words, though we parented our children the same, we were able to form a relationship with our daughters which allowed us to guide them through developmental steps, and we were not able to form this relationship with our son.  This relationship is what allows you as a parent to teach your children to do the very simple tasks that they learn as a part of their childhood.  Due to Kirby's autism, there were problems that existed that prevented us from being able to form this very natural parenting relationship with him.  Through research on families who have a child with autism and a child without autism, we would be able to demonstrate this, and therefore legitimize the loss of this relationship between parents and their child with autism.  This reserach would have significant implications for RDI therapy, as RDI is the only intervention method that directly seeks to help parents develop their guided participation relationship with their child with autism.  Since we have seen and lived this with our triplets, we are excited to be a part of supporting this very important research. 

What FARR Did in 2008

As part of our 2008 contributions, Jessica Hobson along with Dr. Peter Charman were able to apply for an NIH grant to study RDI over a three year period. This grant application was in part made possible by the FARR funding the Hobson's received. Dr. Gutstein is also planning to submit a follow up study on adolescents and RDI in the spring of 2009.

 

Foundation for Autism Research & Remediation (FARR)
“Hit It FARR 4 Kirby” 2007 Contribution Report

The 1st Annual Golf Classic “Hit it FARR for Kirby,” which took place in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday, July 20, 2007, at the River Ridge Golf Club, and hosted by Blake and Debbie Roberson of Clayton, NC, was a tremendous success for the Foundation for Autism Research & Remediation (FARR) last year. The Robersons were able to generate support for autism research from many of their family and friends, along with additional support from companies throughout the North Carolina region. When it was all over, the Robersons presented the FARR Foundation with a cashier’s check for over $22,000 which represented the support and sponsorships of all involved. They even had an informal awards presentation following the tournament to recognize the winners, which featured a silent auction.

Once we received this major contribution, FARR immediately began to apply the funds toward promising and innovative research on the autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We’re currently funding a research study out of London which addresses remediation approaches to the disorder. We’re happy to report that FARR’s participation in this particular study will conclude at the end of calendar year 2008, unless an extension is requested. The study has additional support from other entities, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Tavistock & Portman Charitable Trust in London. The findings from this study will be released following its conclusion and will also be posted for acceptance in related journals on autism. FARR offers a Request for Proposals on our website at www.farrsite.org, where you will find instruction as to how to apply for funding should you have a grant proposal which would address treatment and therapies designed to combat autism.