Research Staff

Tamara Cohen Daley, PhD

Tamara has both lived and worked in India on and off throughout her life. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Daley has designed and conducted more than half a dozen research and evaluation studies on disability in India. These projects include the first national study of parents of children with autism in India; a national survey of diagnostic practices and beliefs among paediatricians, psychiatrists, and psychologists; a comparison of paediatrician practices and beliefs about autism over a 10-year period; a comprehensive review of published literature on autism; and the effect of the popular media on awareness of autism amongst the general public. Her work has led to a familiarity with important Indian legislation affecting children with special needs, such as the Persons With Disabilities Act, the National Trust Act, and inclusion issues in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

In addition to research in India, Dr. Daley has led or contributed to the design, implementation, and analysis of multiple research projects involving children, adolescents, and families in the U.S. and elsewhere. These projects include work in rural Kenya, such as changes in child cognitive scores over time and the role of classroom quality; research on mental health problems in second generation Cambodian refugees and intergenerational transmission of trauma; and longitudinal studies of children with developmental delay.

Dr. Daley is also involved in ongoing evaluation of the implementation of the U.S. federal special education law through three studies collecting data from nationally representative samples of children and districts and census surveys of states.

Dr. Daley received a BA in psychology from Grinnell College, a Fulbright Scholarship to undertake research in India, and an MA and PhD in clinical psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has received awards from numerous foundations and federal grants to pursue her research on children and youth.