OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center specialists have started a pilot project that aims to help physicians in the early identification of children with autism.

The Autism Workforce Initiative announced Wednesday includes a training program for physicians and an intensive early intervention program for young children suspected of having autism.

Bonnie McBride, the principal investigator of the Early Foundations project in the Health Sciences Center's Department of Pediatrics, says the intervention program is designed for children as young as 15 months old.

McBride says it expands the intervention time for autistic children from 2-4 hours to 17 hours per week. She says the program includes support and education for their parents as well.

The program has sites in Oklahoma, Cleveland and Canadian counties and McBride says plans call for a site in Tulsa County soon.

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