ADHD, Big Emotions, and Adaptive Behavior in Young Autistic Children
A recent Duke study explored a link between ADHD, difficulties with big emotions, and adaptive behavior – a person’s ability to perform everyday social and personal life skills - in autistic children. We found that kids with more difficulty managing big emotions also had greater difficulties with social adaptive behavior specifically.
Autism Center Moves Research Efforts to Updated Facility
We are expanding our research capacity at our facility in the Exchange on Erwin building to accommodate all of our research efforts into one easily accessible location. The facility has been designed to accommodate participants with sensory sensitivities and is equipped to support our advanced research studies.
Employee Spotlight: Evan Watson
Evan Watson, the Autism Center’s communications specialist has been with us since 2023. Originally from Winston-Salem, NC, Evan completed his Bachelor’s degree from The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, double majoring in history, and philosophy and religion. He then went on to complete a master’s program in library science at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he later worked as the overnight librarian at the 24 hour undergraduate library.
Duke Autism Research Presented at International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Conference
The Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development was well-represented at the 2025 International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting. Team members traveled to Seattle for the conference, which took place April 30 through May 3, 2025.
Maslow named Distinguished Professor in Child Psychiatry
Congratulations to Duke Psychiatry chair Dr. Moira Rynn and professor Dr. Gary Maslow on being named distinguished professors—and to the 29 other newly distinguished professors at Duke. They were all honored in a recent ceremony and reception at the Washington Duke Inn. Maslow serves as the medical director of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development
Distinguished professorships honor faculty who are well-established members of the Duke academic community and who have achieved distinction as creative scholars in their field or in their ability to transcend disciplines.
SenseToKnow app shows accurate results when performed at home, study shows
Our team tested the accuracy of the SenseToKnow app for autism screening when used by caregivers at home on their own mobile phone or tablet. The results showed that the mobile autism screening app can be done at home and still provide a high level of accuracy for identifying autism in toddlers, comparable to the results of earlier studies in our clinic and lab.
The possibilities for remote screening could lower barriers to autism screening, reduce disparities in early access to services and support, and improve children’s outcomes.
Utilizing AI to Understand Early Development in Infants
Faculty member Elena Tenenbaum, PhD, presented "Utilizing AI to Understand Early Development in Infants" at the Autism Science Foundation's 2025 Day of Learning. This presentation was based on research from the RISE study.
Duke Undergraduate receives Simons fellowship
Ashleigh Waterman, a Duke undergraduate student has been funded for her work on our RISE project by the Simons Foundation's Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience (SURFiN)!
Ashleigh presented her poster "Remote assessment of infant memory of social vs non-social stimuli" at a recent meeting of SURFiN fellows in New York.
What we know (and don’t know) about autism, according to science
“Autism is not one condition.” Geraldine Dawson, founding director of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, talks about the spectrum of conditions autism presents, the arc of development, and support strategies.