Center News

Ten years after the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development was founded, our trainees have gone on to careers in research, clinical practice, and academic leadership. We caught up with three former trainees to learn more about how their experience at Duke prepared them to make an impact in the field.

You may be familiar with the saying, “If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person”. In a clinical and research context, while we know a lot about how different autistic children present, this knowledge doesn’t always help us identify which groups of children may respond differently to specific supports and intervention approaches. Even experienced clinicians have a limited number of interventions to fit all these unique children.

Now in its fourth year, the ongoing Autism HERO study aims to better understand the co-occurrence of ADHD and anxiety in young autistic children. Led by Kimberly Carpenter, PhD, the research team continues to focus on recruitment and assessment, as well as refining their data analysis plans. They have begun sharing early findings by submitting abstracts to national and international conferences planned for 2025.

A joint team from Duke and the University of Cape Town working with caregivers of autistic children in South Africa moved in-person caregiver coaching sessions to a low-cost platform because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The Duke Autism Clinic has offered assessment and therapy services to families for over 10 years. The clinic serves many young children whose families are seeking diagnostic evaluation and therapy.

Dr. Geraldine Dawson challenges the "40 hours of therapy" approach and shares groundbreaking insights about the effectiveness of autism intervention on the YouTube show Neuro Chat with AG.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrHW003xNag

We at the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development applaud the US House of Representatives passing the Autism CARES Act of 2024.

This important legislation will reauthorize and expand critical services and support research initiatives that benefit the autism community, including the NIH Autism Centers of Excellence program. The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

Congratulations to Blake Henkel, a 32-year-old artist with autism, whose artwork "Chillin' Friends" was selected to illustrate our 2024 holiday greeting card.

View the full gallery of artwork submitted by artists of all ages.

Embedded in electronic health record (EHR) data are the stories of thousands of late-talking children and how their communication abilities develop over time, what co-occurring conditions they may have, and which services they may be accessing.

The unique Third Year curriculum at Duke University School of Medicine encourages tomorrow’s physician leaders to broaden their background in patient care through a fieldwork experience in patient-oriented research.