Mission Statement

Empowering neurodiverse individuals, families and communities, regionally and globally, through state-of-the-science clinical care, innovative research, and high-impact training.

About Us

The Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute is a multifaceted, interdisciplinary program serving children, families and professionals in the autism community. The center combines clinical services, research and training programs to unlock the potential autistic children and teens, enrich their life experiences, empower parents and promote the well-being of families through evidence-based practices. One of our major endeavors is developing effective new models of care for families and providers - locally, nationally and internationally.

Our Founder and Director 

Dr. Rebecca Landa.

Rebecca Landa, PhD, CCC-SLP, is the founder and director of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) and the REACH research program at Kennedy Krieger Institute. She is also a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Via federal and foundation funding, Dr. Landa has made groundbreaking discoveries about development in children with and without ASD from early infancy into the teen years. She has translated those discoveries into innovative interventions and demonstrated the effectiveness of those interventions in clinical trials in home, clinical, child care, and public school settings. Dr. Landa is the author of the Pragmatic Rating Scale and the Social Communication Interaction and Play Screener.

She has also developed the Early Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorders Video Tutorial, a free 9-minute video tutorial on behavioral signs in one-year-olds. The tutorial consists of six video clips comparing toddlers who show no signs of ASD to toddlers who show early signs of ASD.

Each video is presented with voice-over explaining how the specific behaviors exhibited by the child, as they occur on screen, are either indicative of ASD or typical child development.

Events

Dr. Rebecca Landa gives a presentation during the 21st Annual Autism Conference. She is standing at a podium as people sit at tables in front of her watching.  A  projection screen on the right  shows the presentation.

21st Annual Autism Conference Virtual Presentations

Thank you to all those who joined us for the 21st Annual Autism Conference! We were thrilled to host nationally-recognized presenters and autism professionals for our first in-person autism conference since 2019.

If you were unable to attend, don't worry! Virtual sessions will be available for on-demand viewing through Nov. 30. To access this content, visit the conference website and register to attend as a virtual attendee:

Register

Stay Connected!

Visit the CARD Calendar to stay in-the-know about announcements and successes, trainings and events, and more. 

Related Materials and Information