Charlotte (mucchetti) Distefano BS, EdM, PhD, MA

Dr. Charlotte DiStefano is a post-doctoral researcher in the Jeste Lab. After receiving a B.S. in Special Education from New York University and an Ed.M. in Mind Brain and Education from Harvard University, she received her Ph.D. in Psychological Studies in Education from UCLA. She has worked as a post-doctoral scholar with the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment since 2013 under the mentorships of Drs. Connie Kasari and Shafali Jeste. Before earning her Ph.D., Dr. DiStefano worked as a special education teacher with children with ASD, in both New York City and Los Angeles. She is actively involved in special education teacher preparation, and teaches credentialing courses at CSULA and CSUN.
Dr. DiStefano’s primary interests are language development and minimally verbal children with ASD. She was awarded a Meixner Postoctoral Fellowship in Translational Research from Autism Speaks to identify EEG biomarkers related to language and literacy abilities in minimally verbal children with ASD, with the eventual goal of informing treatment decisions. Additionally, she serves as project coordinator for one of UCLA’s Autism Center of Excellence projects focused on minimally verbal children with ASD, entitled “Augmenting language interventions for ASD: A translational approach”. Through her work, studies and research, Dr. DiStefano has over ten years of experience working with children with ASD.