Center News

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.

“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.

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.

Huge thanks to B&K’s Studio for their generous donation of $1500 to the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development! B&K’s Studio is a non-profit founded by a group of local high school students in 2022 to support the autism community.

Can developmental screening tools help flag speech-language delays at age 2? In a study of 7,198 children using electronic health records, lower SWYC scores—reflecting greater developmental concern— were strongly associated with speech-language delay diagnoses at the 24-month visit, with differences observed across insurance type and demographic groups.

Originally from the sunny city of Escondido, California, just north of San Diego, Alex Reed completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of California San Diego before making the cross‑country move to North Carolina. The transition came when his wife began studying at Duke Law School, and soon after, Alex joined Duke University as a biostatistician in the research lab of Dr. Virginia Kraus, where he studied proteomics to better understand osteoarthritis.

Mattel is introducing a new autistic Barbie doll featuring accessories such as headphones, fidget spinner, and a communication aid. "Autistic kids often feel excluded because they are different. Having a doll that represents their personal experiences sends a message that they are valued and included," Geraldine Dawson, PhD, told ABC News.