This episode features Dr. Catherine Lord, the George Tarjan Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Education at UCLA’sDavid Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Lord is a clinical psychologist whose groundbreaking work has shaped how autism is understood and diagnosed across the lifespan. Host Holly Oliver, Disability Rights Advocate at the UCLA Tarjan Center, talks with Dr. Lord about her research of individuals with autism across the lifespan.
Together, they discuss:
- How autism can be identified as early as age 2
- What long-term studies show about autism development from childhood to adulthood
- How emotions, reading and comprehension rates relate to growth and independence
- Why family, caregivers and environment are key to support
- What hopeful and realistic approaches to autism look like today
Listen now to hear Dr. Lord share insights from her decades of research, training, and clinical work, highlighting how early diagnosis and support can help individuals with autism reach their full potential.
To read more about Dr. Lord and her research: https://seis.ucla.edu/faculty/catherine-lord/