After 29 years, Dr. Lorna Catford is retiring from Sonoma State University. We deeply appreciate all of her dedication to the Collaborative Autism Training and Support (CATS) Program and wish her a long and fruitful retirement.
She has developed a powerful program that contributes deeply to the community and student learning. As is a result of her hard work, CATS is an integral part of what we do here at SSU. We are looking forward to continuing the program, alongside a few changes in keeping with University resources and policies:
- Psychology 490 service-learning seminar class, Autism: Theories and Interventions, will be instructed by Dr. Jessica Hobson. Jessica has a lot of experience with service-learning and her clinical and academic background is with families and their children with autism.
- She is excited to take on the leadership of this program at SSU. Students in this class will continue to learn about children with autism spectrum disorders and work with these kids and their families.
[Related: "These children need us, and we need them.": A Student Reflection on Reciprocity in Service-Learning]
- The course will now run during Spring (January-May) semesters only.
- The program will move from a home-based to a clinic-based setting in partnership with the Child Parent Institute (CPI).
- Once students have completed PSY 490, they will be qualified to apply for internships with organizations that work with children with autism, including CPI and several local schools and autism support agencies. The new psychology internship coordinator is Dr. Meri Storino.
If you have questions about the future of the CATS program at SSU, please contact Dr. Hobson. If you have questions about CPI's role, please contact Grace Harris. If you are a community organization looking to recruit interns, please see this blog post.
[Related: Congrats to CATS!]
Thanks so much to Lorna for all your dedication and hard work over the years! I also appreciate Dean John Wingard's staunch support for CATS. Special thanks to our incredible community partner, CPI, for your flexibility and creativity moving forward! Welcome, Jessica! The CATS program has enjoyed strong investment and support from the community and we look forward to continuing those relationships and partnerships.