BALTIMORE, April 2 (UPI) -- The Interactive Autism Network, described as the first online U.S. autism registry, is designed to drive autism research more quickly.
Started by the Kennedy Krieger Institute, IAN will aid research into causes, treatments and a cure for autism, according to the husband and wife research team of Drs. Paul and Kiely Law, parents of a 13-year-old son with autism.
IAN will match parents of children with autism with local and national research studies. Each year, many autism studies are not completed because scientists cannot find enough qualified participants in a timely manner.
In addition to data collection and recruiting participants for research, the IAN project hopes the autism community will visit an online meeting place, where they can become more knowledgeable consumers of autism research, according to the institute.
The Web site IANproject.org also aims to provides consumer-friendly, evidence-based information about autism, explain the value of research in general and give updates on current and future research studies.
