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Clinical notes may capture speech-language concerns before diagnosis codes do
Doctors often record concerns about a child's speech and language before assigning a formal diagnosis. In our study, only about half of children with documented concerns had a diagnosis recorded at that visit, and many received one later. This pattern may reflect ongoing monitoring over time before a diagnosis is recorded.
Read the open-access paper from Duke and North Carolina Central University researchers at https://academic.oup.com/jamiaopen/article/9/3/ooag090/8707577
2026 INSAR Meeting Connects ESDM Trainers Around the Globe
The 2026 INSAR meeting, held in Prague, provided an opportunity for ESDM global trainers from across sites to connect in person.
Highlights from the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development team
Lauren Franz, MBChB, MPH, presented:
Duke Athletes Share Smiles at 2026 Soccer Spectacular
On a hot, sunny Saturday in April, kids from the community took to the field with Duke Soccer. Both the men’s and women’s teams came out for this special event, hosted by the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development in partnership with Duke Athletics. With one-on-one instruction from these NCAA student-athletes, the kids practiced soccer skills including dribbling, passing, goal scoring, and a scrimmage.
Dawson Addresses Community's Challenges in JAMA Opinion
“The solutions the autism community needs will come from collaboration rather than division.” Geraldine Dawson, PhD, founding director of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, said, addressing major challenges facing the autism community in this viewpoint article in JAMA Pediatrics.
Alignment, Adaptation, and Accommodation
In celebration of Autism Acceptance Month, Holden Thorp, PhD, delivered the keynote seminar in the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development's 2025-2026 Seminar Series on April 8. Thorp is the editor-in-chief of Science, a family of highly respected scholarly science journals and popular science publications, and a faculty member at George Washington University. He served as the chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2008 to 2013.
