The newly endowed Frist Center for Autism and Innovation seeks to unlock unique talents
Obsessed with the need to understand how things work, Dave Caudel remembers being told for much of his life that he asks too many questions.
Then he found a place where his natural hardwiring thrived.
“When I entered the lab for the first time, I discovered a world where there’s no such thing as ‘too many questions.’ Being curious and driven to understand things is what makes good science,” says Caudel, a postdoctoral scholar working with the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation.The new center will be housed in the School of Engineering and was endowed in fall 2018 by a $10 million gift from Jennifer Frist, BS’93, and her husband, Billy. It 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.
“I have firsthand experience of how difficult it is integrating into a neurotypical world,” Caudel says. “As a father, I’m also worried about what kind of world my children are entering, and that motivates me to try and make it better.”
As an undergraduate Caudel was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a condition considered part of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in which individuals tend to function at high levels. Caudel has three children, each of whom also is on the spectrum to some degree.
To Jennifer Frist, Caudel’s unique perspective is invaluable. “It is so important that Dave Caudel is involved with the center,” she says.
As one of only nine women computer science majors in the School of Engineering while she was an undergraduate at Vanderbilt, Frist personally understands what it means to provide a diverse viewpoint. She gained additional perspective when she and her husband learned their firstborn son, now a teenager, is on the autism spectrum... (Vanderbilt Magazine, continues)
Then he found a place where his natural hardwiring thrived.
“When I entered the lab for the first time, I discovered a world where there’s no such thing as ‘too many questions.’ Being curious and driven to understand things is what makes good science,” says Caudel, a postdoctoral scholar working with the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation.The new center will be housed in the School of Engineering and was endowed in fall 2018 by a $10 million gift from Jennifer Frist, BS’93, and her husband, Billy. It 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.
“I have firsthand experience of how difficult it is integrating into a neurotypical world,” Caudel says. “As a father, I’m also worried about what kind of world my children are entering, and that motivates me to try and make it better.”
As an undergraduate Caudel was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a condition considered part of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in which individuals tend to function at high levels. Caudel has three children, each of whom also is on the spectrum to some degree.
To Jennifer Frist, Caudel’s unique perspective is invaluable. “It is so important that Dave Caudel is involved with the center,” she says.
As one of only nine women computer science majors in the School of Engineering while she was an undergraduate at Vanderbilt, Frist personally understands what it means to provide a diverse viewpoint. She gained additional perspective when she and her husband learned their firstborn son, now a teenager, is on the autism spectrum... (Vanderbilt Magazine, continues)
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An Evolutionary AdvantageClaire Barnett, a senior majoring in human and organizational development at Peabody College, learned she was on the autism spectrum while in college. For her, that diagnosis came just a year ago.
In November, Barnett met Temple Grandin, an inventor, author, speaker and advocate for the autism community, during Grandin’s time on campus taking part in the Chancellor’s Lecture Series. While at Vanderbilt, Grandin participated in a daylong conference made possible by the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation that explored the future of human–technology partnerships.
Barnett, who works as an intern at the center, looks forward to a day when explaining that she’s on the spectrum won’t put her in the category of “the other.” Perhaps, she says, people will even begin to see that having a different perspective might be an advantage, recalling Grandin’s words that people who think and see the world differently have helped develop everything from electricity to iPhones.
Barnett writes regular columns for The Vanderbilt Hustler to raise awareness about those in the university community living with invisible disabilities. She also founded the Vanderbilt Autism and Neurodiversity Alliance and serves as its president.
“It’s strange that people stigmatize differences, which is why I’ve been so open to writing about them,” says Barnett.
Through her photography and writing, Barnett has successfully matched her strengths—particularly her ability to identify patterns and create visual narratives—to a vocation. In 2017 she worked as a photography intern for the White House, and last summer she served as the sole communications intern in the Office of the Vice President... (continues)
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