Biography

Cynthia Carter Barnes, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the assessment of children, adolescents, and adults. She has worked with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for more than 35 years, including 20 years as a psychologist at the UC San Diego Autism Center of Excellence conducting assessments of young children between 12 months to 5 years of age. Dr. Barnes has also previously worked directly with Dr. Catherine Lord doing assessments for research reliability. 

Dr. Barnes’ interest in ASD began during her undergraduate years majoring in Speech and Language Sciences at UC San Diego. She went on to receive her master’s and doctoral degrees in educational psychology from UC Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, CA. Dr. Barnes completed an internship at the Koegel Autism Center at UC Santa Barbara, where she trained under Dr. Robert Koegel doing Pivotal Response Training with children and Parent Training. She eventually returned to San Diego, CA, where she completed her postdoctoral training at Rady Children’s Hospital. 

Outside of work, Dr. Barnes enjoys candle making, resin arts, bike riding, and spending time with her dog.