Duke Hosts Inaugural Meeting on Autism and Language

Elena Tenenbaum, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and faculty member at the Duke Center for Autism, has had a long-standing fascination with how children acquire language and has spent the past several years studying language development in autism. She is especially interested in understanding why some individuals never learn to speak and the best ways to facilitate effective communication skills for every individual.

Remarkably, statistics reveal that approximately 30% of people on the autism spectrum do not use spoken language as a means of communication. The reasons for this substantial variability in language development among autistic individuals are still poorly understood. This question inspired Dr. Tenenbaum and her colleagues to bring together the best minds in the areas of autism and language development.

In March of 2023, the first Meeting on Language in Autism (MoLA) was held on campus at Duke University. MoLA was created to establish a common space for researchers and clinicians studying language in autism to come together to share progress and ideas. In its first year, MoLA welcomed over 130 researchers, clinicians, and stakeholders from around the United States and abroad.

The event launched with a keynote address from Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of the Center for Autism Research Excellence at Boston University. Dr. Tager-Flusberg noted that the ability to communicate is one of the most important predictors of long-term outcomes and independence for autistic individuals. The study of language in autism also has the potential to inform our understanding of language itself, as we explore why some individuals have difficulties with certain domains of language while other domains remain fully intact. 

Dr. Tenenbaum is already busy organizing MoLA 2024, which will be held on campus at Duke March 14-16^th, 2024. More information: www.molautism.org.