April 17, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — After a high school experience volunteering at a camp for special-needs children, "I
knew I wanted to be a physician and that I wanted to work with persons
with autism," says Craig A. Erickson, M.D. "I felt comfortable working with these
folks, and I knew early on I should devote my career to working with
these groups," he adds. Dr. Erickson, chief of the Christine Sarkine Autism Treatment Center at Riley
Hospital for Children in Indianapolis and chief of the Fragile X Research and Treatment Center, is a 1999 graduate of
DePauw University.
In its "Rising Star" feature, today's Indianapolis Star notes, "Erickson and his colleagues, Drs. Kimberly Stigler and Christopher McDougle, treat those with autism and Fragile X and research new methods of treating those disabilities. The center draws about 500 new patients a year. The majority of Erickson's time is spent visiting patients and in research. At any given time, he may oversee or be involved with 12 to 20 studies."
Erickson, assistant professor of
psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine, advises young people, "Carve
out a niche. I have undergraduate students who come through here, 
and I
tell them to figure out what you like to do and find a patient
population you want to serve. You have to be rewarded by what you do or
you aren't going to want to show up every day."
Read more at IndyStar.com.
Also available is this previous story on Dr. Erickson.