Autism

Children ages 6 to 14 years with an autism spectrum disorder can have fun learning tennis at the Centennial Sportsplex, thanks to the Vanderbilt Club Tennis Team Read More

A biomarker for oxidative stress is elevated in patients with both autism spectrum disorder and gastrointestinal dysfunction, suggesting opportunities for individualized approaches to clinical care. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers reprogrammed a humanoid robot and an XBox Kinect to help autistic children improve their abilities to engage in social interactions. Nilanjan Sarkar, professor of mechanical and computer engineering, is quoted. Read More

A three-year study that evaluated the effectiveness of a training program designed to enhance autism spectrum disorder identification and assessment within community pediatric settings was released this week in the journal Autism. Read More

Children with autism spectrum disorder are better at perceiving the motion of certain objects than are typically developing children their age. Read More

SENSE Theatre, the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and University School of Nashville will present Mergatroid and the Candy Store on Friday, June 14, and Saturday, June 15, at 7 p.m. in the USN Auditorium, located at 2000 Edgehill Ave. in Nashville. Written by Blythe Corbett, assistant… Read More

Vanderbilt University is part of a multi-site autism clinical study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a blood test that aims to screen children for referral for autism spectrum disorder evaluation (ASD) earlier and more accurately. Read More

An interdisciplinary team of autism experts and mechanical engineers at Vanderbilt University has created an interactive robot that can help children with autism learn. NAO (pronounced “now”) is the little robot “front man” for an elaborate system of cameras, sensors and computers designed specifically to help young children learn how… Read More

How a robot helps kids with autism Hear from a student who played with Billy Joel Nashville Predators warm the youngest of hearts All this and more in this week’s VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast. [vucastblurb]… Read More

An interdisciplinary team of mechanical engineers and autism experts at Vanderbilt University have developed an adaptive robotic system and used it to demonstrate that humanoid robots can be powerful tools for enhancing the basic social learning skills of children with autism. Read More

Peabody professors Paul Yoder and Ann Kaiser have received Autism Centers of Excellence grants to study language interventions for young children with autism. Read More

Individuals with overexpression of the gene MECP2 have core features of autism spectrum disorder. Read More

One of the critical, unmet needs for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is support for the transition into adulthood. Read More

ResearchMatch, a national on-line volunteer recruitment service hosted by Vanderbilt University, has launched a sub-registry for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to increase the participation of children and adults with autism in clinical research studies. Read More

Recent advances in genetics and understanding how the brain works raise the possibility that intellectual developmental disabilities are treatable and some actually may be reversible. Read More

There may be a biological basis for separate doll and dump truck aisles in the toy store. Read More

Sleep research is one of the many initiatives made possible through Vanderbilt’s participation in the Autism Treatment Network. Read More

Simply giving parents a pamphlet about sleep habits did not help their children with autism spectrum disorders get a better night’s sleep, but capturing best practices for an overarching approach to insomnia in autism may help health care providers identify and manage symptoms in these patients. Read More

Two new grants highlight Vanderbilt University’s growing role in the design and evaluation of transition services for youth and young adults with autism spectrum disorders or intellectual disability. Read More

Several Vanderbilt researchers have collaborated with this year's Nobel Chemistry winners. Read More