Image The CACTI Blog: Research at the Sonoran Center Prepared Me for a Career in Public Health Sept. 28, 2023 While looking for an internship, I wanted to work for a non-profit organization that supports education and awareness. When I found the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities, I was excited that it is part of the University of Arizona. Having an internship connected to the University of Arizona was important to me because I wanted to represent the college I go to. Then, I learned that the Sonoran Center was part of the UCEDD network. Read more
Image Native American TBI in Arizona Sept. 27, 2023 The Sonoran Center’s Native Initiatives program manager R. Joshua Drywater and postdoctoral scholar Austin Duncan, PhD, were invited to form a team for the 4th cohort of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) I-Corps™ program. The program exists to help NSF scholars turn their scientific discoveries into products, technologies, and services that are available to the public. Read more
Image The CACTI Blog: DISCAPAZ - Experiences in the Borderlands Sept. 20, 2023 DISCAPAZ: Disability Experience in the Borderlands” is a research project using artistic and creative expression. As DISCAPZ fellows, our responsibility was to assist community members in developing digital mixed-media experiences that reflected their experiences as individuals with a disability living on the Arizona-Sonora border. Read more
Image ICYMI: Regular AHCCCS Renewals Began April 1, 2023 Aug. 31, 2023 As of April 1, 2023, AHCCCS began disenrolling members who no longer meet eligibility criteria. All AHCCCS and KidsCare members now need to follow the regular process for renewal. Read more
Image Leadership Transition Aug. 28, 2023 Wendy Parent-Johnson, PhD, the executive director of the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities, recently announced that she will be transitioning away from the University of Arizona in September 2023. Read more
Image Help to Start Again: Kingman Prison Project Connects People with Disabilities to Accessible Resources Aug. 23, 2023 One of the biggest challenges of the criminal justice system is how to re-integrate people into public life after they have served their sentence in jail or prison. Among the most important tasks upon one’s release is finding a steady job. This process is difficult enough, but it can be especially difficult for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD). Read more
Image The CACTI Blog: Building Community Through Health and Wellness Aug. 22, 2023 ArtWorks is an outreach program through the University of Arizona that functions as an art studio and day program where artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities between the age of 22 and 70 work together in a setting that respects diversity, advocates for new learning styles, and integrates life skills. Read more
Image Sonoran Center’s Joshua Drywater Attends Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Summit Aug. 18, 2023 In June 2023, Joshua Drywater, Sonoran Center Program Manager for Native Initiatives, attended the Louisiana Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Summit. The summit was an educational workshop in New Orleans, Louisiana hosted by the Human Development Center at Louisiana State University.  Read more
Image The CACTI Blog: COVID-19, Limitations of the Healthcare System and its Treatment of the Disabled Community Aug. 16, 2023 During the 2020-2021 school year, I had the experience of being a disability policy fellow with the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities. Throughout my research, the negative impact of COVID-19 on disability was prominent. Read more