I’m Aubyn Stahmer. I am a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, CA. I am also the Director of the Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the MIND Institute. I earned my PhD in Psychology at the University of California, San Diego in 1994 where I had the opportunity to learn about parent coaching and better behavioral strategies for children with autism spectrum disorder. I became a Clinical Psychologist in 1996 and a Behavior Analyst in 2007. I have spent over 30 years developing expertise and training in psychology, applied behavior analysis, multidisciplinary diagnostic evaluation and treatment, parent education and mental health services research. My work at Rady Children’s Hospital and UCSD from 1996 – 2015 provided training and practical experience moving evidence-based strategies for autism into community settings and building strong community – research collaborations.

In 2015, after my son had left for college, I moved to UC Davis where I have the chance to build new community and research collaborations. The work in my lab ranges from doing community training in several evidence-based autism practices to working with teams who use eye tracking to understanding child development and treatment response. However our focus is on implementation sciences and developing and testing interventions to support systems change to improve the use of evidence-based practices in community care. We partner with other Universities and the community to increase access to quality care to underserved communities and training community providers and leaders in new strategies. I am so happy to be a part of the UC Davis MIND Institute and the Human Development Graduate group where I have a chance to work with wonderful, brilliant colleagues and students across a range of disciplines.

Research Interests 
Aubyn Stahmer, PhD is a clinical and research psychologist, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at UC Davis, Director of Community-based Treatment Research, UC Davis MIND Institute. Her research focuses on examining the use of evidence-based intervention for children on the autism spectrum and their families in school and community settings. Current projects are focused on understanding how to best train teachers and early intervention providers in new effective practices, how to train leaders to support the use of evidence-based practices, adapting early treatment for use in underserved areas and partnering with families and self-advocates to improve the impact of research.

Select Publications 

Reaven, J., Pickard, K., Meyer, A., Hayutin, L., Middleton, C., Reyes, N., Tanda, T., Stahmer, A.C., Blakely-Smith, A., & Boles, R. (2023). Implementing school-based CBT for anxiety in students with autism or suspected autism via a train-the-trainer approach: Results from a clustered randomized trial. Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231175951 

de Marchena, A., Wieckowski, A.T., Algur, Y., Williams, L.N., Fernandes, S., Thomas, R.P., McClure, L.A., Dufek, S., Fein, D., Stahmer, A.C., Robins, D.L. (2023). Initial diagnostic impressions of trainees during autism evaluations: High specificity but low sensitivity. Autism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2933

Oliver Kerrigan, K., Courtney, M., Mello, M., & Stahmer, A.C. (2023). General education teacher perspectives on inclusion and autism: Focus on high-poverty schools. Teacher Education Quarterly, 50(1), 7-27. 

Eldeeb, S.Y., Wieckowski, A.T., Fein, D.A., Stahmer, A.C., Adamson, L.B., & Robins, D.L. (2023). Sex differences in early autism screening using the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised, with Follow-Up (M-CHAT-R/F). Autism: International Journal of Research and Practice.

Aranbarri, A., Aizpitarte, A., Arranz-Freijo, E., Fano, E., Sánchez de Miguel, M., Stahmer, A.C., & Ibarluzea, J.M. (2023).  What influences early cognitive development? Family context as a key mediator. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2022.101480 

Morgan, E.H., Shaw, B.D., Winters, I., King, C., Burns, J., Stahmer, A.C., & Chodron, G. (2023). Paths to Equity: Parents in partnership with UCEDDs fostering Black family advocacy for children on the autism spectrum. Developmental Disabilities Network Journal, 3(1), article 5. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/ddnj/vol3/iss1/5

Pickard, K.E., Wainer, A., Broder-fingert, S., Sheldrick, R.C., & Stahmer, A.C. (2023). Overcoming tensions between family centered care and fidelity within Early Intervention implementation research. Autism: An International Journal of Research and Practice, 27(3), 858-863. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221133641

Melgarejo, M., Nahmias, A.S., Suhrheinrich, J., Schetter, P., Dean, M.,. Holt, T., Li, J., & Stahmer, A.C. (2023). Exploring organizational differences in perceptions of implementation climate and leadership in schools: A mixed methods study of Autism EBP Implementation.   Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 38(1),17-31 https://doi.org/10.1177/10883576221140149

Stahmer, A.C., Suhrheinrich, J., Rieth, S.R., Roesch, Scott, Vejnoska, S., Chan, J., Nahmias, A., & Wang, T. (2023). A Waitlist Randomized Implementation Trial of Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching for Students with Autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities 38(1), 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/10883576221133486

Locke, J., McGhee Hassrick, E., Stahmer, A.C., Iadarola, S., Boyd, B., Mandell, D.S., Shih, W., Hund, L., & Kasari, C. (2022). Using novel implementation tools for evidence-based intervention delivery (UNITED) across public service systems for three evidence-based autism interventions in under-resourced communities. BMC Psychiatry, 22, 478. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-022-04105-9

Pellecchia, M., Mandell, D.S., Beidas, R.S., Dunst, C.J., Tomczuk, L., Newman, J., Zeigler, L., & Stahmer, A.C. (2022). Parent coaching in early intervention for autism spectrum disorder: A brief report. Journal of Early Intervention. https://doi.org/10.1177/10538151221095860  

Suhrheinrich, J., Chan, J., Holt, T., Wang, T., Rieth, S., Roesch, S., Sam, A., Stahmer, A.C. (2022). Developing an empirically-based adaptation and training model for intervention scale up of classroom pivotal response teaching: A protocol paper. International Journal of Education Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2021.100107 

Suhrheinrich, J., Nahmias, A.S., Yu, Yue, Melgarejo, M., Schetter, P., Holt, T.C., & Stahmer, A.C. (2022). Practice-driven research for statewide scale up: Implementation outcomes of the California Autism Professional Training and Information Network. Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F13623613211068224

Boyd, B.A., Stahmer, A.C., Odom, S.L., Wallisch, A., & Matheis, M. (2021). It’s time to close the research gap in autism: The need for implementation science. Autism International Journal of Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211064422 

Stahmer, A. C., Vejnoska, S., Iadarola, S., Straiton, D., Segovia, F. R., Luelmo, P., … Kasari, C. (2019). Caregiver Voices: Cross-Cultural Input on Improving Access to Autism Services. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-019-00575-y

Stahmer, A.C., Aranbarri, A., Drahota, A., & Rieth, S. (2017). [Editorial] Toward a more collaborative research culture: Extending translational science from research to community and back again. Autism: International Journal of Research and Practice, 21, 259-261.

Stahmer, A. C., Brookman-Frazee, L., Rieth, S.R., Stoner, J.T., Feder, J.D., Searcy, K., & Wang, T. (2017). Parent perceptions of an adapted evidence-based practice for toddlers with autism in a community setting. Autism: International Journal of Research and Practice, 21(2), 217-230. PMCID:PMC5083231 ERIC: ED566966

Select Grants 

2023-28    Principal Investigator. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): R01MH131703-0“Examining the Effectiveness of the Early Start Denver Model in Community Programs serving Young Autistic Children.” University of California, Davis ($2,955,060).

2022-27    Site Principal Investigator (PI: Robins). National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): 1P50HD11142-01 “Strategies to facilitate early detection of autism in primary care.” Drexel University. University of California, Davis ($406,620).

2021-26    Director. Human Resources Services Agency (HRSA): 16-031 “Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disorders” University of California, Davis ($2,500,000)

2021-26    Director. Administration for Community Living – Administration on Disabilities (ACL-AoD): 201602885 - 90DD0823-01-00. “University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service” University of California, Davis. ($2,800,000).

2021-25      Principal Investigator. W. T. Grant Foundation: 190851. “Effectiveness of a Multi-System Leadership Strategy for Using Evidence During Sustainment of ASD Interventions” University of California, Davis ($999,413)

2021-23    Co-Principal Investigator. PCORI: EASC-IDD-00269. “Creating Partnerships with Diverse and Underrepresented Communities to Build a Research Network” University of California, Davis ($247,393).

2020-25    Site Principal Investigator (PI: Kasari). Human Resources Services Agency (HRSA): UT3MC39436 “Autism Intervention Research Network for Behavioral Health 4.” University of California, Los Angeles ($1,751,020)

2020-24    Site Principal Investigator (PI: Suhrheinrich). Institute of Educational Sciences R324A200134 “Developing an Empirically-based Adaptation and Training Model for Intervention Scale-up of Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching (CPRT),” San Diego State University ($1,399,850)

2019-23    Site Principal Investigator (PI: Rieth). U.S. Department of Education Grant: R324A190076 “Examining the Efficacy of Project ImPACT for Toddlers.” San Diego State University ($962,376)