As a special education teacher, Catherine Faherty taught a variety of students with diverse learning styles before creating a model classroom in North Carolina in 1985 for students with autism. From 1990 to 2012 she worked as an Autism Specialist with the internationally recognized TEACCH® program, working with children and adults with autism, consulting with parents, initiating and running several support groups for adults, Spanish-speaking parents, autistic women and neurodiverse couples, while training teachers and other professionals locally and internationally and co-developing several TEACCH® training models.
In 1995, Catherine initiated the Greek Autism Project to organize Greek-Americans in funding the translation of the first books on autism into Greek for the Greek public. After leaving TEACCH® to work on her own, she continued as a TEACCH® Certified Advanced Consultant until 2021.
Catherine has written four books (translated into 12 languages) one of which was awarded the Autism Society of America’s 2009 Outstanding Literary Work. Working part-time as a direct service provider with the Autism Society of North Carolina, Catherine continues to work closely with Carol Gray and is an authorized Social Stories™ instructor. She is known for her creative use of structured teaching strategies, and for her commitment to educating autistic individuals and their families about the crucial need for self-knowledge, authentic mutual communication, and the development of self-advocacy. She speaks at conferences, provides webinars, and her mentoring is sought after by young autism professionals world-wide.