Award Winning!

The parenting magazine I work for just won six awards at the National Association of Parenting Publications of America! We got a silver for a cover design, a bronze for a news piece, a silver for a profile, a silver for web design, a gold for web content, and a gold for general excellence in the web category!

The profile was written by me, so I am deeply proud of it for that reason, but it was about an amazing woman  who has an amazing story to tell. I profiled Dr. Lorna Catford, who teaches psychology at Sonoma State University, and who heads up the autism class project there, as well.

The program is called CATS: Collaborative Autism Training and Support Program. What it does is pair students who are studying autism with a family that has an autistic person, so that the student gets a real sense of the disability and the family gets some respite and access to more techniques, knowledge, and programs. The student also gets a first-hand look at many career choices available to them within the autism community -- Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Special Education teacher, etc. -- which are rising careers due to the rise in autism rates. (A sad fact, but true. More kids diagnosed means more need for professionals to help.)

The parents involved in the program get to hear presentations from various fields in the county, and we get lots of handouts and informational supplements, too. Some  of us even went back as speakers, telling what it is like from our perspective, and answering questions the students have.

We were fortunate enough to be a part of the program two semesters ago, and our student was beyond incredible. I cried when she went to Italy for a semester -- partly out of jealousy, sure, but mostly out of feeling bereft! She bonded with Thomas, and brought a gentle energy to working with him that is her true gift in life. Now Lauren is in the Bay Area, studying to become an Occupational Therapist. She will bring such wisdom and strength to the lives of her patients and their families -- and I know this firsthand, having had her in our lives for those weeks in the CATS program.

We are a part of the class again this semester, and our student is bubblier than champagne, sweeter than a basket of kittens, enthusiastic as a used car salesman (wait, that doesn't seem right... how about as enthusastic as a Girl Scout selling cookies?), and genuinely caring, deep down in her very soul. We adore her, can you tell? :) This student is still deciding what, exactly, she wants to do, but it will "help as many people as I can, in as many ways as I can!" (I told her to check out the North Bay Regional Center, which all but has that on their business cards!)

Dr. Catford has two daughters, and one of them has autism. Her understanding of the parents' perspectives is crystal clear, and she has dealt with most of the professionals in the county at one time or another, so she is a bottomless pit of resources. Her program is newsworthy, but so is she -- the amount of energy and life she brings to the students is reflected in their involvement in our lives, and our children's lives.

Winning that silver award for that particular piece meant a lot to me, but being involved in the program and knowing Lorna has meant much, much more to me and our family. I know it sounds cliche to dedicate some award to someone else, but I do feel like Lorna won the award through my writing... and I wouldn't have it any other way!

And for the record, if it were based on Lorna, and not the writing, she'd have herself a gold, with extra sparkles and stars and confetti and hugs.