A Message From Our Founding Executive Director

On top of my stack of messages that Wednesday morning was a call from Mrs. Richards*. It had been more than a year since she and her husband first came to see me about Jason, their two-year-old son. Their first child, he had been a happy baby who was eating and growing and exploring during his first months of life. As he entered his toddler years, he appeared withdrawn and became inflexible, having violent tantrums when introduced to different foods or new places. Although I work with these families every day, it is always heartbreaking to have to deliver the news that a child meets criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

For a time, Jason made progress with intensive services through the Early Intervention Program. But now he was three, and his peers were entering preschool. Jason needed up to eight hours of services each day, and these were not covered by his parents’ medical insurance. Mr. and Mrs. Richards had contacted every school for children with autism within a 75-mile radius. Some of the schools they visited upset them. The children sat at a table for hours each day being drilled by an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapist. But it didn’t matter what the Richards thought; none of the schools had openings.

Mrs. Richards was at the end of her rope. I recognized the desperation in her voice. Regrettably, this was not the first time I participated in a conversation like this one.

In 2002, I was moving my growing practice to a new location on East 82nd Street. I decided to lease a second floor in the building to develop a school where I could put into practice everything I knew to be beneficial to the learning and development of children like Jason. With this, I initiated the McCarton Foundation to support the development of new opportunities for these children.

The success of the McCarton School has surpassed my expectations. My one great disappointment is that since 2002, the need for superior schools for children with autism has not diminished. It is growing.

It is not possible for the McCarton Foundation to reach every one of the thousands of children in New York City who are diagnosed with autism. However, we can serve as a model, show that our approach is effective, disseminate information about our work, support the implementation of an integrated model at other locations, and provide training and support to professionals and parents. And this is just what we devote our long days to accomplishing.

Over the past six years, the McCarton Foundation has broadened its efforts. It now supports 25 children at the McCarton School. In September 2007, we supported the establishment of a Center for Research and a Training Institute. We are busy, but we will continue to press forward. I am committed to the work of the Foundation because there is such a need, and we know how to help. Autism took our children from us and we can’t stop working until we get them back.

Cecelia M. McCarton, M.D.
Founding Executive Director