Catherine Lord: Transforming Autism Research
An unapologetic & tailored approach to treatment
When American autism researcher Catherine Lord, PhD, entered Harvard University in the early 1970s, she intended to focus on how children think. Along the way, however, she shifted into psycholinguistics—a change she claims has contributed to her groundbreaking work in the understanding and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
As a woman, Dr. Lord’s current standing as the George Tarjan Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA didn’t come easily. “After being mentored by a string of ‘great men,’ I have been especially keen to mentor female scientists,” she says. “When I started out as a researcher, I was often one of few women in a department. At one point, I was one of only two female professors in a medical school. This has changed somewhat; clinical psychology and psychiatry are now primarily female professions, but the ranks of the most powerful researchers remain male.”
Despite obstacles and a lack of female peers early on, Dr. Lord began working with autistic individuals and families to develop solutions that help them achieve independence. “Over the course of my career, I have become unapologetically eclectic in the therapies I select, tailoring these to the individual and situation,” she says.
Dr. Lord has also helped develop novel diagnostic instruments to identify skills and weaknesses that influence an autistic person’s progress, such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), and the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). She has participated in large studies and shared data about neurobiology and behavior, and she’s invested both time and energy into training psychologists and other clinical ASD researchers.
Today, Dr. Lord continues her work at UCLA. She reflected recently on her remarkable career, saying:
“I have studied autism for almost 50 years now. My focus on the condition was not planned. Rather, it was a product of being in the presence of extraordinary researchers, clinicians and trainees who challenged me to keep evolving as our understanding of autism evolved. The most important factor in my success has probably been the long-term clinical relationships I have had with families and children, many of whom are now adults. This, more than anything else, afforded me opportunities to think creatively and try innovative approaches.”
Awards & Accolades
Over the course of her career, Dr. Lord has received a number of prestigious awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Autism Research. She’s authored over 300 referenced journal publications, and has received funds from NIH, Autism Speaks, and the Simons Foundation for numerous research grants.
She is also:
A member of the National Academy of Medicine;
An American Association of Arts and Sciences fellow (and a former chair of a National Academy of Sciences committee on the effectiveness of early intervention in ASD);
A co-chair of the New York Board of Health committee on ASD; and
A member of the DSM 5 American Psychiatry Association’s neurodevelopmental disorders committee.
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