In honor of its 50th anniversary, the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center will hold a community celebration with special guest Tim Shriver.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a $1.8 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to join the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.

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.

Elise McMillan, J.D., received the Mollie Burd Gavigan Service Award from the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee (DSAMT) in recognition of McMillan’s “instrumental role in improving the lives of individuals with Down syndrome in Middle Tennessee.” The award was presented recently at the annual DSAMT Buddy Race.

Amy Weitlauf, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pediatrics, will be leading a study among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness training as part of early interventions for children with ASD.

A child’s ability to distinguish musical rhythm is related to his or her capacity for understanding grammar, according to a recent study from a researcher at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.