In Other Words is a podcast from the UCLA Tarjan Center where people with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities interview researchers, policymakers, and experts in the field of developmental disabilities. Each episode takes presentations from the Tarjan Center Annual Forum in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and turns them into clear, plain-languageconversations so everyone can understand and join the discussion.

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:

o How autism can be identified as early as age 2

o What long-term studies show about autism development from childhood to adulthood

o How emotions, reading and comprehension rates relate to growth and independence

o Why family, caregivers and environment are key to support

o 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.

Show Notes:

Learn more about the UCLA Tarjan Center: https://teams.semel.ucla.edu/tarjan

View recordings and slides from the Annual Forum on Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

To read more about Dr. Lord and her research: https://seis.ucla.edu/faculty/catherine-lord/