Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

Ann Kaiser, tenured professor and a pioneering voice in early language and communication intervention for young children with developmental disabilities, died on Sept. 13 in Nashville, Tenn. Read More

Growing up with an intellectually disabled sibling has challenges, but there are powerful benefits as well—both immediate and lifelong—as revealed by a recent study by Assistant Professor Jessika Boles and two co-authors. The study, published in Research in Developmental Disabilities, collected information from siblings through a survey and online interviews. Boles and her co-authors brought their lived experience to the research; they all have younger siblings with IDD. And Boles has extended her knowledge to helping others; she is faculty director of the Vanderbilt chapter of SibShops—a regular gathering of young people who have siblings with disabilities. Read More

Annette Schaffer Eskind, a civic leader and philanthropist who, with her late husband, Irwin Eskind, MD’48, made transformational contributions to Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and throughout the city of Nashville, died July 13, 2025. She was 97. Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich Imagine applying to a support service that turns down 66 percent of first-time applicants. Then imagine navigating that—a process which can involve multiple attempts, forms, taking time off work for meetings, and more—in English when it may not be your first language. That experience is the reality… Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich The American Educational Research Association has named Vanderbilt University’s Laurie Cutting, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Special Education, a 2026 AERA Fellow, an honor recognizing the nation’s top researchers in education and learning. She… Read More

Two staffers at the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation have received Live Long and Prosper Tribute Awards from the Nimoy-Knight Foundation. Director of Communications Jessica Schonhut-Stasik, founder of The Neuroverse Initiative, works to create pathways for neurodivergent people in the space sciences. Project manager and author Dave Thompson champions the unique perspectives and talents of the neurodivergent community. The LLAP award recognizes people who embody the values of Star Trek: exploration, diversity and the pursuit of a better future for all. Read More

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

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

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center researchers, as part of the CDC Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring network, report an increase in the number of children in Tennessee with autism spectrum disorder. Read More

Class of 2022: Growing up, Dillon Pruett didn’t know anyone who stuttered like he did, but he was well aware of how widely misunderstood the disorder was, both among children and adults. As he learned more about the science behind it, he became determined to dispel those misconceptions. Today the Basic Sciences Ph.D. candidate is conducting novel genetic research to provide a better understanding of stuttering and ultimately develop new therapies to treat it. 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