Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center has announced its latest Nicholas Hobbs Discovery Awards, which recognize innovative research to improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Colleen Niswender, Dr. Bill Nobis, Audrey Bowden and Laurie Cutting are the recipients for 2025–26, earning support for projects that address Rett syndrome, Dravet syndrome and other developmental epilepsies, and reading difficulties like dyslexia. Read More

At Vanderbilt, people with autism aren’t only research subjects—they are key drivers of scientific discovery. Vanderbilt’s autism research centers and academic programs have fostered a collaborative ecosystem where neurodiverse scholars and scientists can thrive and bring their unique perspectives and abilities to bear on complex research challenges. Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center invites parents/caregivers and their infant (~6-12 months old) to participate in a music class/parent education opportunity. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are seeking children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 16 years old who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability to participate in a research study examining the effect of theatre on children with ASD and ID. Read More

Peabody College Special Education research assistant professor and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center member Ben Schwartzman recently received funding from the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation to create a peer mentorship program between job-seeking and employed adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Read More

The VBI recently marked its 20th anniversary, a span that has seen the institute’s wide-ranging missions—including administering the university’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, as well as postdoctoral training and community outreach—steadily coalesce under a single umbrella. Read More

Under Jack Elder, EdS’73, the Tennessee Special Olympics program became recognized as one of the strongest and best managed. For athletes then and now, after five decades, Special Olympics is a chance to prove what they can do when given the opportunity. Read More

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders benefited from the addition of mindfulness-based stress reduction to parent-implemented behavioral interventions. Read More

This fall Vanderbilt welcomed its newest faculty members to campus, and their impact is already being felt, both in the classroom and through their wide-ranging research. Read More

A new study published in Neurology reports the drug trofinetide has proven safe and effective in treating core symptoms of Rett syndrome in female children and adolescents. Read More

At Vanderbilt, there is no shortage of exploration. Every day our talented faculty, students and staff are driven to make discoveries—not just for the recognition, but for the chance to move the dial, to permeate the boundaries, to affect our society at large and for the better. Read More

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation seeks to transform workplaces by developing new technologies based on the specific skills and talents of people with autism, effectively inspiring advances that can lead to meaningful employment and a fuller life. Read More

Middle Tennessee children with autism spectrum disorder are 2.5 times more likely than children without ASD to be reported to the Child Abuse Hotline by age 8. Read More

The grant will allow Kennedy Center researchers to analyze data from VUMC's Synthetic Derivative and BioVU databanks to study biomarkers associated with Down Syndrome. Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center’s Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorder (TRIAD) is bringing some of Nashville’s most prominent community organizations together to promote acceptance and inclusion of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Read More

The prevalence of U.S. children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is now 1 in 59, according to new estimates released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a significant increase from the 1 in 68 estimate in 2016. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have found that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be accurately diagnosed in young children via remote, telemedicine assessments, a method that could significantly increase access and reduce wait times for autism services. In a first-of-its-kind study, the researchers compared the accuracy of rapid… Read More

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) announced its 2018 award recipients, which include three people affiliated with the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC). Read More

Arie Nettles, PhD, associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center member, has been appointed by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam as chair of the Statewide Planning and Policy Council of the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD). Nettles has served as a member of the council since 2014. Read More

  Autism researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and two other universities have received a $2.99 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to conduct a four-year multisite project investigating the impact of theatre and peer mediation on the social competence of youth with autism spectrum… Read More