family holding girl up and boy looking on at parents

Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training

Participate in Studies

As many as 1 in 44 children in the United States will be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) annually, making autism more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. ASD spreads across all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, and disproportionately affects boys. Despite some progress in understanding ASD, too much remains unknown.

The Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training is a multidisciplinary center that conducts research on the causes, nature and management of autism spectrum disorders, and offers training to future scientists, professionals, parents and caregivers. We focus on discovering insights into the primary neurobehavioral basis for ASD and interventions to prevent and treat the impact of ASD on individuals and families and our society at large.

The Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (K-CART) at the University of Kansas, established in 2008 with private and public funds, is a multidisciplinary center that promotes research and training on the causes, nature and management of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Committed to the highest standards of scientific rigor, K-CART will generate new scientific discoveries about ASD, disseminate research-based practices by training professionals, practitioners and families who serve children and adults with autism, and provide clinical services through the Center for Child Health and Development at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

K-CART is a part of the Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas, and works across the institution to partner in research, training and resource navigation for people with Autism and their families.  This includes working with partners at the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities (KUCDD), the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project,

In addition K-CART partners with community organizations such as the Autism Society of the Heartland (ASH), the Self-Advocate Coalition of Kansas, and Families Together, the Kansas Parent Training and Information Center, and the Kanas City League of Autistics to disseminate information, share resources and assist in providing support to families of people with Autism and Autistic adults.

K-CART counts as its core mission to provide support for and learn from autistic* individuals and parents, caregivers, educators and supporters of children with autism.

*Throughout this website, in consideration of diverse perspectives, we purposely use both identify-first language (i.e., autistic individual) and person-first language (i.e., individual with autism)