Zachary Williams

M.D./Ph.D. student
Vanderbilt University

Zack Williams is an M.D./Ph.D. student at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee, currently pursuing a joint Ph.D. in neuroscience and hearing and speech sciences. His research focuses on the development and evaluation of psychological measures for use in adults on the autism spectrum. He is particularly interested in the assessment of co-occurring psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders in autistic adults and the development of evidence-based treatments for these conditions.

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When Autistic Kids Grow Up.

When autistic kids grow up

An autistic researcher’s paper called attention to a huge disparity in autism funding research between children and adults. It nearly derailed her life.

By Brady Huggett
18 June 2026 | 2 min listen
Photo collage of Tempest McDonald.

When autistic kids grow up, Chapter 2: “You need to go to college”

With just a high school equivalency degree and struggling as a single mother, Tempest McDonald is forced to shift her priorities.

By Brady Huggett
18 June 2026 | 28 min listen
Photo collage of Tempest McDonald.

When autistic kids grow up, Chapter 1: Those people

What leads an autism researcher to publish an intentionally inflammatory paper accusing the NIH of discrimination?

By Brady Huggett
18 June 2026 | 24 min listen