Duke Emergency Department Raises Funds for Duke Center for Autism

Back row: Keith Valentine, Jillian Padilla, [a visiting nurse], Stephanie Hannah, Tracie Hazelett, Liz Indence, Vicki Sutter, Breanne Hamlett Front row: Jill Howard, PhD, Mackenzie Hathaway, Shelby Ferry, Tara Chandrasekhar, MD, Sarah Edmunds, MS

We are very grateful to the Duke Emergency Department for the support they showed our Center in honor of Autism Awareness Month this year. Led by Vicki Sutter, BSN, RN, the department raised over $200 for the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development in April. The Emergency Department was interested in donating to the Duke Center for Autism because of their frequent engagement with patients with autism. In light of this, Ms. Sutter asked if members of our Center’s clinical team could provide the ED staff with guidance for interacting with people on the autism spectrum in medical settings. Psychiatrist Tara Chandrasekhar, MD, psychologist Jill Howard, PhD, and intern Sarah Edmunds, MS, enjoyed meeting with the ED team to give them some tips on best practices. Small changes in the lighting of an exam room or ways of communicating with a patient with autism, who are sometimes nonverbal, can make a real difference.

Sutter remarked, “In the Emergency Department, we encounter patients with autism in various age groups. Working with this special patient population encouraged us to reach out to the Duke Center for Autism for more education. We also really wanted to raise awareness in our department and sold autism ribbons and buttons, with all proceeds going to the autism center. Working at Duke has been so amazing, and the collaborative effort between our department and the autism center has been a wonderful experience for our patients and our staff!”

Center staff and faculty at the annual Triangle Walk for Autism Speaks event.

We were thrilled to have professional golfer Ernie Els and his wife Liezl visit our Center in April 2019. Here post doc Jordan Hashemi, PhD, is giving Ernie a demonstration of one of our autism screening tools. The Els, parents of a son with autism, are autism advocates and founders of the Els for Autism Foundation.

“In the Emergency Department, we encounter patients with autism in various age groups.”

Thank You

We wish to express our gratitude to the following agencies, foundations, and individuals who generously supported the work of the Duke Center for Autism in FY2019.

Department of Defense Marcus Foundation National Institutes of Health National Science Foundation Simons Foundation

Mr. James Barrett and Dr. Stacey Coulter Mrs. Lori A. Bullis Mr. Paul Attilio DiMarco and Mrs. Sherri DiMarco Duke Hospital Emergency Department Employees Mr. William Florence and Ms. Joy Seppala Mr. and Mrs. David Fullerton Ms. Jill Ann Jenkins Mr. Rushabh Modi Mr. Ted and Mrs. Mary Moore Mr. Nick Nickerson / 3,000 Miles for Autism Mrs. Jane O’Brien Ms. Vesna Papoe Mr. James Schwab and Mrs. Kimberly Schwab Drs. Harry and Andrea Stylli Mr. Matthew Trzyna and Mrs. Dianne Trzyna Mr. David Zalik and Ms. Helen Zalik

WE WELCOME YOUR SUPPORT

By giving to the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, you are joining in our mission to help each individual with autism reach his or her fullest potential. As part of Duke University, the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Federal Tax ID number for the program is 56-0532129.

How to contribute:

By secure website: You can make your secure online gift by visiting https://www.gifts.duke.edu and entering “Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development” in the search bar. By check: Please make all gifts payable to “Duke University,” with Duke Center for Autism referenced in the “memo” portion of your check, and mail it to:

Duke Health Development and Alumni Affairs Attn: J. Steven Barnes 300 W. Morgan Street, Ste. 1200 Durham, NC 27701

Kids enjoyed playing music at the Center’s “Music 2 the Max” event in December 2018.

NIH Autism Center of Excellence