MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University’s Center for Excellence in Disabilities is recruiting families of autistic children for a study and free behavioral therapy training.

Children must be 18 months to 4 years old and meet diagnostic criteria. Families can live in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia or Kentucky but must travel to Morgantown or Charleston twice.

Parents who are chosen will get a video camera to record their work and will get individualized feedback.

Pediatrics professor Susannah Poe says West Virginia has too few practitioners to meet demand. Currently, the state has 27 board-certified behavior analysts to treat the one in 100 children diagnosed.

Poe says applied behavior analysis is the most researched and recommended treatment for young children, and this project can help parents use it.

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