Division of Developmental Medicine

July 11, 2013

Training program meets ‘critical need’ for earlier autism identification

A three-year study that evaluated the effectiveness of a training program designed to enhance autism spectrum disorder identification and assessment within community pediatric settings was released this week in the journal Autism.

By VUMC News and Communications

May 23, 2013

Blood test for autism could speed diagnosis

Vanderbilt University is part of a multi-site autism clinical study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a blood test that aims to screen children for referral for autism spectrum disorder evaluation (ASD) earlier and more accurately.

By Craig Boerner

May 9, 2013

NIH grants bolster autism research, treatment efforts

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have received grant awards from the National Institutes of Health as part of the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) research program. The NIH announced grant awards of $100 million over five years to 11 centers nationwide, three of which feature projects from Vanderbilt Kennedy Center investigators, to further studies on autism treatment and intervention.

By VUMC News and Communications

March 23, 2013

Humanoid robot helps train children with autism

An interdisciplinary team of mechanical engineers and autism experts at Vanderbilt University have developed an adaptive robotic system and used it to demonstrate that humanoid robots can be powerful tools for enhancing the basic social learning skills of children with autism.

By VUMC News and Communications

March 7, 2013

Warren lands AAIDD early career award

Zachary Warren, Ph.D., has been named to receive the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities’ (AAIDD) 2013 Early Career Award.

By VUMC News and Communications

September 24, 2012

Little evidence supports medical treatment options for adolescents with autism

Despite studies that show that many adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders are being prescribed medications, there is almost no evidence to show whether these medications are helpful in this population.

By VUMC News and Communications

August 27, 2012

Little evidence supports autism treatment options in adolescents

There is insufficient evidence to support findings, good or bad, for therapies currently used in adolescents and young adults with autism.

By VUMC News and Communications

April 4, 2011

Better tools needed to target autism treatments for children

Although an evaluation of existing treatments for children with autism spectrum disorders found positive results in some studies, better information is needed to target the right treatments to specific children.