Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago (ESMC) has built Phase One of a new $42,000,000 Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research in the Illinois Medical District (IMD) that will help meet the needs created by the explosive growth in autism.

This unique facility is the only one of its kind to combine on a single campus educational, research, training, early intervention, school-to-work transition and independent living capabilities. Nowhere else in the USA is there located in the heart of a major medical district a campus that contains services for people with autism that provides:

• State-of-the-art education, interventions and treatment programs
• Clinical affiliation with a major university and hospital
• World-class education and training seminars
• School-to-work, vocational training and job placement
• Independent living facilities in Phase Four of the project
• And perhaps most importantly, cutting-edge research conducted by the finest autism researchers in the country at The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) whose mission is to find the causes, develop interventions and treatments for autism

The new, custom-designed center allows Easter Seals to expand its landmark autism services to meet the special needs of students with autism, emotional behavior disorders and severe learning disabilities. Interior plans and features, from special acoustic finishes and lighting fixtures to therapy and gross motor skills rooms, help reduce distractions and promote more effective learning.

When all four phases are completed, the state-of-the-art, 87,000 square foot Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research campus will incorporate a therapeutic school, specially designed research capabilities, administrative offices as well as independent living facilities (Phase Four of the project).

The location of the school campus in the Illinois Medical District facilitates a natural synergy with world-class autism researchers. Working in concert with the researchers from the University of Illinois and others will lead to the development of breakthrough interventions and successful strategies for working with individuals with autism.

Dr. Stephen Porges, Director of the Brain-Body Center, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago and other researchers are working on the causes of and determining successful interventions for autism. Researchers are able to unobtrusively observe students at the school in order to assess challenges and create successful interventions. Research conducted at the school will be available to other research sites around the entire world via the Internet.

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