Barbara Caplan

DR. BARBARA CAPLAN, whose research aims to maximize the impact of autism research in diverse communities, joins the faculty in the department of Psychology this fall. She recently completed postdoctoral training at UC San Diego, where she studied how to best support implementation of researchsupported practices in a real-world setting.

At UCLA, where she received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees, Dr. Caplan focused her studies on child clinical psychology, with an emphasis on youth with autism and other developmental disabilities and their families. She was inspired to pursue this area of study by her mother, who worked as a special education teacher for 30 years. Dr. Caplan visited her mother’s classrooms as a child and worked as a teacher’s aide in an autismspecific classroom as her first job out of high school.

“I loved the individuality and strength of my students, as no two children with autism are alike,” Dr. Caplan says. “Yet something that stuck with me was the tremendous stress placed on families to navigate complex service systems while supporting their child’s behavior and development.”

Dr. Caplan’s research looks at the factors that impact the effectiveness of autism intervention in the community and ways to help families, community leaders and providers, and advocacy organizations “develop practices and strategies that are culturally responsive and fit community-based service settings.”

She’ll bring her passion for these subjects into the classroom this fall, as she’ll be teaching Developmental Psychopathology and Family Therapy.

She’s looking forward to teaching again. “During my postdoc I pursued clinical research, and while I mentored undergrads and gave guest lectures on campus, I had less opportunity for formal classroom teaching,” Dr. Caplan says. “I am excited to get back in the classroom and connect with my students.”