Katy Beggs Joins AUCD Staff

September 25, 2008

Katy Beggs

Katy will be helping to provide technical assistance and coordination for the Maternal and Child Health Bureau's (MCHB) Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Programs , focusing on issues related to autism in the recently awarded Cooperative Agreement between MCHB and AUCD for the Autism Technical Assistance and Resource Center. The Resource Center Agreement is part of MCHB's Combating Autism Act Initiative. Katy will works closely with the nation's LENDs to provide technical assistance and facilitate the development and sharing of resources among the network of participating LENDs. She will also work with MCHB staff, partner organizations, and national advisory committee members in fulfilling the tasks of the Cooperative Agreement and in supporting the mission of the expanded LEND Programs.

Prior to joining AUCD, Katy was a Clinical Child Psychology Intern at the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami (LEND/UCEDD/IDDRC) where she worked extensively with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their families. Prior to her work at Mailman she was a LEND trainee and an Advanced Clinical Psychology Practicum Student at the Riley Child Development Center at Indiana University (LEND). At both programs, she was part of interdisciplinary teams and provided evaluation, treatment, and advocacy for children with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities.

Katy holds a BS in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MA in clinical psychology from the University of Indianapolis (UIndy) School of Psychological Sciences. She recently defended her dissertation and will receive her doctorate this winter. She was an instructor at UIndy's Indianapolis and Athens, Greece Campuses. Katy recently co-authored a book chapter with her mentor and former supervisor at Riley, Steve Koch, PhD, as well as Jacqueline Wall, PhD, and Joy Bailey, entitled, Advocacy in the 21st Century: An Integrated Model for Self-Advocates, Parents, and Professionals.