Project Type: Grant Proposal for Autism Awareness

Project name: Petroleum Perspectives: a Documentary Series

Transmittal/Cover letter

To Whom It May Concern,

OAR.

Dated:

Subject: Letter of transmittal and statement of purpose

This letter states the intent of the candidate to conduct a research complied with the guidelines of OAR. The grant period for this research shall be from 1st July 2013 to December 31st 2014.

The purpose of the research chosen is to study the prevalence of autism as a major challenge to families in the province of Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Autism has existed in the province since a long time and has been the main cause of medical problems to families in the province. The purpose of this paper is to request funding for a project with the aim to reduce autism in the region and additionally, the increase the awareness against this medical condition.

The total amount of grant expected from the acceptance of this proposal is 2000 US Dollars. The cost of implementation of the project is 50,000 US Dollars. From this amount, 10,000 US Dollars shall be requested from the local government of Uyo province and a grant of 40,000 US Dollars shall be used to conduct a project to reduce autism in the province and to increase awareness against it. The applicant wishes to deviate slightly from the traditional approach and instead of conducting a research to unearth further facts and details, conduct a project in which doctors and medical experts can also be involved. The expected outcome of this project would be a considerable increase in awareness regarding Autism and a decrease of the disorder's prevalence in Uyo.

IRB approval for the project and application shall be provided to OAR by .

Regards,

[Applicant's Name]

Introduction

In February 2004, the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) established the Graduate Research Grant Program in the hope to augment and improve support of students towards the research of disciplines in assessment, learning and intervention of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders). The primary intent of OAR is to provide support to graduate researchers by conducting research projects related to Autism.

Background

There are more than one million children and adults living with Autism in Nigeria right now. Autism (ASD) is a “complex and pervasive development disorder” which has lifelong development and causes disabilities in the affected person. It affects the way a person communicates and relates to other people around him or her. The beautiful country of Nigeria is not safe from this disorder either. Sadly, the people of the country have little awareness about this disorder. Children living with Autism in Nigeria face stigmatization among other difficulties, making it a tough problem to deal with.

According to a recent article published by Autism Associates Nigeria (2012), there is a strong need of speech pathologists in the country because they can help Autism patients recover and deal with the disorder but currently, there are hardly three to five renowned pathologists practicing in the country. All of these pathologists are practicing in Lagos. This is a bad scenario because there are an estimated 190000 ...