Developmental Disabilities

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Lectures on Development and Developmental Disabilities will host 'Empathy and Morality Should Not Be Conflated,' a lecture that integrates evolutionary theory, neuroscience, psychology and behavioral economics to demonstrate how various social and situational factors unconsciously and rapidly modulate empathy. The lecture will take place on Thursday, May 4, from noon - 1 p.m.; a limited number of boxed lunches (first come, first served) will be provided - please register to attend. Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Conversation Series on Research in Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities is designed to share research in plain, accessible language with the community while fielding questions from the audience. The next Conversation will cover “Mental Health in Individuals with IDD” on Thursday, March 30, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. CT. Read More

For the first time, graduates from Vanderbilt’s Next Steps program for students with developmental disabilities will walk in the full campus Commencement ceremony.  Read More

For the past decade, students with intellectual disability have found an inclusive postsecondary education experience through Next Steps at Vanderbilt. The program, housed in Peabody College of education and human development’s Department of Special Education, is marking its 10th anniversary with events and commemorations throughout 2020. Read More

Technology as a tool in research and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities will be the keynote topic at the 10th annual Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day, scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 23, at the Vanderbilt Student Life Center. Read More

The Alison Piepmeier Memorial Lecture is set for Sept. 25, featuring speaker George Estreich, author of a book about raising his daughter who has Down syndrome. Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Disabilities and Religion program is hosting community conversations in Davidson and Williamson counties to brainstorm with key stakeholders about increasing opportunities for meaningful participation for people with disabilities and their families in communities of faith. Read More

Vanderbilt Divinity School is a partner in a new Nashville affordable housing initiative in which students and young adults with intellectual disabilities form friendships and share activities together. Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center will celebrate 50 years of transforming lives in 2015 with lectures by AUCD Executive Director Andrew Imparato and Special Olympics Chairman and CEO Timothy Shriver. Read More

The Susan Gray School has long been known as a resource for early childhood education of children with developmental disabilities. Not everyone knows, however, that the school also enrolls many typically developing children. Read More

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean visited the Vanderbilt campus March 12 for Spread the Word to End the Word, an annual event presented by the award-winning Vanderbilt chapter of Best Buddies. Read More

As schools nationwide prepare for the new academic year, education experts from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and human development are available for back-to-school interviews on a variety of topics. Read More

ACM Lifting Lives® and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities partnered again for the 4th Annual ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp, June 23-29. The camp is open to individuals with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes medical and… Read More

Project Opportunity, a 10-month job skills training program for individuals with developmental disabilities, recently celebrated its five new graduates. 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

The 2013 Tennessee Adult Brothers and Sisters conference will be held April 5-6 at the Holiday Inn-Vanderbilt, located at 2613 West End Ave. in Nashville. The conference is open to adult siblings who have a brother or sister with a disability, siblings-in-law, cousins and professionals interested in sibling issues. Read More

Second class graduates from Next Steps at Vanderbilt, a two-year certificate program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Read More

Next Steps at Vanderbilt Director Tammy Day (center) with Joan Pynn (left) and Karen Antle of the College of the North Atlantic. (Photo by Tony Maupin) Canadian college officials toured Vanderbilt March 26 to get a closer look at the work being done in the… Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (Vanderbilt University) The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities will co-host the fourth annual Tennessee Adult Brothers and Sisters (TABS) Conference April 20-21 at the Holiday Inn Select Vanderbilt. TABS is a statewide network that provides information, resources and support for adults who have a… Read More

Undergraduate student Sarah Hart presents her research to Aaron Bowman and others at VKC Science Day 2012. (Anne Rayner/Vanderbilt University) Undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows on the cusp of research careers in developmental disabilities got a chance to shine Feb. 28 during the annual Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day. Read More