To: National Desk

Contact: Marguerite Colston of the Autism Society of America, 240-672-4734 or mcolston@autism-society.org

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Autism Society of America (ASA) and the Autism Research Institute (ARI) today announced a strategic partnership to collaborate on conferences, publications and services that will improve the lives of all those affected by autism in the United States. By joining forces, ASA and ARI aim to continue the important stewardship of their founder, Dr. Bernard Rimland. A pioneer in the area of autism diagnosis and treatment, Rimland transformed the prevailing pessimistic view of autism in the medical and scientific community and built the largest parent support organization in the United States.

"Bernie Rimland was among the first to realize the importance of combining a focus on medical interventions with treatments, supports and services," stated Dr. Cathy Pratt, ASA board chairperson. "There is not one parent or professional who has not been impacted by the knowledge, dreams and thinking of Bernie Rimland. The ASA/ARI partnership is our way of ensuring that Bernie's vision will continue to guide the autism community for the long-term."

A major purpose of the ASA/ARI partnership is to promote awareness that autism must be treated as a whole body condition. Projects in 2007 will include biomarker conferences, distribution of scientific journals and collaborative efforts to serve over 100,000 members and supporters of these two organizations.

"I founded ASA in 1965 as a parent advocacy organization to work on behalf of autistic children and their families at local, state and national levels," said Rimland. "I founded the Autism Research Institute in 1967 to conduct and sponsor scientific research on the cause and treatment of autism. ARI, through its Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) project, has made enormous progress in the past few years -- hundreds of the DAN! doctors and thousands of parents world-wide have reported bringing dramatic improvement, and sometimes recovery, of formerly autistic children. It is clearly time for ASA and ARI to capitalize on the progress that has been made. My colleague, Dr. Steve Edelson, with whom I have worked for 25 years, will play a major role in these efforts." Lee Grossman, president and CEO of ASA, and Edelson, associate director of ARI, will oversee this strategic partnership.

ASA is the largest parent-based, autism organization in the U.S., with over 100,000 members and supporters and 200 local chapters. ARI, with over 70,000 supporters nationwide, has pioneered the study of medical problems of individuals with autism and effective treatments.

ASA is dedicated to increasing public awareness about autism and the day-to-day issues faced by individuals with autism, their families and the professionals with whom they interact. For more information on autism or ASA, visit http://www.autism-society.org or call 1.800.3AUTISM.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

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/© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

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