Dr. Caroline Gomez, co-director of the Auburn University Autism Center, helped establish the center in 2003. She is very active in autism research and has written many articles in professional journals and has spoken at several national conferences. She described autism as a complex, neurological disorder that affects 1 in 250 children. It usually appears prior to age 3 and interferes with social-communication skills. Autism is four to five times more prevalent in boys, and there appears to be a link with this condition and heredity, genetics, environmental factors and medical conditions.

The AU Autism Center was established with the vision of providing much-needed services to children with autism, their families and schools with the goal of optimizing the child’s potential. The center assists with the diagnosis, training and determining effective intervention strategies.