Center News

All are welcome to join us for our next presentation in our Autism Speaker Series. Featuring leading investigators, clinicians, and practitioners sharing their latest research, interventions, and treatments.

In an analysis of reviews published between 2009 and 2020 that assessed therapeutic or educational interventions for very young children with or at high likelihood for autism, researchers, led by Duke Center for Autism Associate Director Lauren Franz, MBChB, MPH, found that certain types of interventions—called naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions, developmental interventions, and behavioral interventions—can provide benefits, but there were significant limitations in the quality of the evidence and many differences in how studies were performed.

Black and Hispanic people with autism or intellectual disability in North Carolina are less likely to receive a Medicaid waiver for home and community-based services than their white peers are, according to a new study.

Team works to promote neurodiversity at Duke Inside Duke Health, Tuesday, April 19, 2022 by Morag MacLachlan

Dr. Geraldine Dawson, the William Cleland Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University talks with The Real Spectrum about new techniques in autism screening, early intervention strategies and some of the research she is conducting. Read the full interview in The Real Spectrum here. 

"It's important to get connected early. No one - regardless of where they live or what recources they have available to them - should have to wait extended periods of time to start services that can support child and family quality of life."  Duke Center for Autism Associate Director Dr. Lauren Franz joins Autism Weekly podcast to discuss the power of early interventions, the need for healthcare access, and how our research is making a difference.

The pandemic has left many clinical trainees feeling isolated from their instructors and classmates. Duke Center for Austism clinician Marika Coffman, PhD, shares her perspective.In an editorial published in Autism Research in December, Dr. Coffman and other trainees offered recommendations on how faculty can support trainees in the remote learning environment and how trainees can advocate for themselves, should future lockdowns arise and some remote instruction stay the norm.

The difference between a social butterfly and a lone wolf is actually at least eight differences, according to new findings by a team of Duke brain researchers. By simultaneously spying on the electrical activity of several brain regions, the researchers found they could identify how social or solitary an individual mouse is.

Having autism or ADHD could come with a higher risk of dying earlier than normal, according to new research. Several previous studies have suggested these neurodevelopmental disorders might be linked with a higher risk of premature death, but findings were inconsistent, according to a new meta-analysis, or review of data from many previous studies, published JAMA Pediatrics. In a commentary on the meta-analysis, neurodevelopment experts Russell A. Barkley and Geraldine Dawson also highlighted how preventive health care can make a difference.

Guillermo Sapiro, the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University, has been named a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)—among the highest professional distinctions for an engineer. Sapiro was cited “for contributions to the theory and practice of imaging,” which have had significant effects on fields as diverse as image recognition and stock market prediction.