Derby Festival gift to help autism program

UofL's STAR autism program will be able to expand treatment efforts thanks to a $30,000 gift from the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation, officials announced April 10.

STAR -- short for Systematic Treatment of Autism and Related Disorders -- treats hundreds of autistic children annually in the Kentuckiana region. The program is part of the UofL Department of Pediatrics' Weisskopf Child Evaluation Center.

"Last year, STAR saw more than 300 children from 53 Kentucky counties and Indiana," said Sandy Metts Snowden, chair of the STAR Advisory Board and a UofL trustee. "There were almost 3,000 visits by these children and their families for assessment, treatment and ongoing therapy.

"This sounds like a lot, but it's truly only a small fraction of the children who need these services, due to the continued increase in the diagnosis of autism.

"The Derby Festival Foundation's gift is helping the STAR autism program provide early intervention for even more children by helping to hire an additional speech language therapist."

UofL President James Ramsey, Ph.D., noted that early intervention can help autistic children lead more normal lives. It also substantially decreases the lifetime costs of providing care for people with autism. That figure can be as high as $4 million, he said.

"We are deeply grateful for the Derby Festival Foundation's recognition of this fact and their commitment to help us serve more children," Ramsey said.

STAR also has been selected as an official charity of the Kentucky Derby Festival's annual marathon and mini-marathon fund-raising events.

The endorsement will allow race participants to use online tools to collect and track gift pledges for STAR.