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Erica has a firsthand understanding of the importance of appropriate support for PDA children. As the mother of two amazing daughters, she knows PDAers often have unique needs that require accommodation. Her most valuable insights come from her own lived experience as someone that went undiagnosed for decades.
Erica, like so many PDA students, was unable to access education through the school system. She eventually earned a high school equivalency credential as a young adult before pursuing a BS in physics from Indiana University with minors in mathematics, earth and space science, and education.
Erica is passionate about helping neurodivergent learners find success in educational settings and serves as an IEP advocate, lived experience specialist, and Montessori proponent.
She has worked as a tutor, educator, laboratory assistant, research assistant, robot surgeon, and engineer. She currently volunteers for PDA North America, the PDA Society, and the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint.
Erica is a support group leader and offers relevant information and emotional support to PDA adults, parents of PDA children, family members, carers, and professionals in international and local support groups she facilitates.
Through her ongoing research, Erica hopes to identify and remove barriers, challenge ableism, dismantle deficit-based frameworks, promote awareness and acceptance, and organize for system change.