Vanderbilt Kennedy Center
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Vanderbilt Kennedy Center announces 2025–26 Nicholas Hobbs Discovery Award recipients
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 MoreDec 4, 2025
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From Subjects to Scientists: Vanderbilt’s autism research and autistic researchers are reshaping discovery
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 MoreMay 12, 2025
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Participants needed for parent-child music class research opportunity
The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center invites parents/caregivers and their infant (~6-12 months old) to participate in a music class/parent education opportunity. Read MoreFeb 28, 2025
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Youths ages 10-16 with autism sought for study on theatre intervention and social skills
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 MoreAug 19, 2024
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Schwartzman receives funding to create employment mentorship program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities
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 MoreJul 1, 2024
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Turning Heads: The Vanderbilt Brain Institute has emerged as a hub of discovery as neuroscience’s influence expands
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 MoreAug 5, 2020
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‘Brave in the Attempt’: The early history of Tennessee Special Olympics is closely tied to Peabody and Vanderbilt
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 MoreJul 29, 2020
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Reducing stress in parents of children with autism
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders benefited from the addition of mindfulness-based stress reduction to parent-implemented behavioral interventions. Read MoreApr 21, 2020
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All-Stars: Dynamic educators and researchers join Vanderbilt’s distinguished faculty
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 MoreNov 7, 2019
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Treating core Rett syndrome symptoms
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 MoreJun 6, 2019
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Chancellor’s Letter: Shaping the Course of Things
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 MoreFeb 19, 2019
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The Innovation of Autism: The newly endowed Frist Center for Autism and Innovation seeks to unlock unique talents
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 MoreFeb 19, 2019
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Study finds children with autism more likely to face maltreatment
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 MoreFeb 15, 2019
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Grant to help explore critical issues in Down syndrome
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 MoreOct 26, 2018
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Network promotes inclusion for people with ASD
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 MoreMay 3, 2018
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New report shows prevalence of autism rising in U.S.
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 MoreApr 26, 2018
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Vanderbilt study affirms effectiveness, promise of telemedicine for autism evaluations
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 MoreMar 12, 2018
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AAIDD honors three Kennedy Center investigators
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 MoreJan 25, 2018
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Nettles to chair state DIDD advisory council
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 MoreJan 18, 2018
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Vanderbilt leads study investigating impact of theatre on youth with autism
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 MoreJan 15, 2018