Elizabeth Baker, PhD

Elizabeth Baker, PhD, is a child psychologist who focuses on understanding and supporting children with neurodevelopmental differences, including autism. She works with children and their families to better understand each child’s unique strengths and challenges.

Dr. Baker specializes in comprehensive evaluations to assess cognition, learning, behavior, and social development. She takes part in multidisciplinary assessments, where professionals from different backgrounds work together to make clear diagnoses and recommendations. In her work, she aims to provide families with understandable feedback and practical next steps they can use at home, at school, and in the community.

As an assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Baker contributes to research exploring how the brain processes social information. She is also interested in how culture and background shape the way autism and other developmental conditions are understood, identified, and supported.

“I entered this field because I value helping children and families better understand how children learn, communicate, and experience the world,” she says. "I want families to know that I take a collaborative, strengths-based approach to care, with a focus on understanding each child’s abilities and potential.”

Dr. Baker earned her doctoral degree in school psychology from the University of California, Riverside. She completed a clinical internship in psychiatry at the VA Maryland Health Care System and the University of Maryland School of Medicine in school mental health. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia’s Sheila C. Johnson Center for Clinical Services, where she specialized in neurodevelopmental and comprehensive psychological clinical assessment.