"Hi I'm Erica! I am a pediatric occupational therapist with over 16 years of experience working with young people and the grown-ups who love and support them. I have worked in schools, outpatient clinics, community programs, and in family homes with children as young as infants up through young adulthood. I love to support and celebrate children and young adults as they grow and develop new skills. My focus has always been to look at the whole child as well as the environment they are in and to provide meaningful activities and supports that build on the child's strengths. Ultimately this strength-based approach allows young people to develop the skills and strategies to flourish within the settings they want or need to be in without having a negative impact on their self-esteem. Developing a positive, trusting, and engaging atmosphere is the most important aspect to any relationship as it allows for vulnerability and therefor growth. I tend to be playful and use lots of games and crafts within a structured and organized framework to teach skills to the young and young at heart. For young adults I retain my essential light heartedness but bring forth the level of seriousness and "older" activities to ensure they don't feel like "little kids."

Through this platform I will be tapping into my clinical background to ensure that the supports and strategies I use are meaningful and appropriate and I will always look at the world through my "OT eyes" but please note that I will not be providing direct occupational therapy services.

When focusing on a student's growth areas I look to develop the lagging physical, cognitive, social, and/or emotional skills they need to succeed. To that end I will use and teach your child, as appropriate, to use physical activity, visual and auditory supports, and technology to help them with focus and attention as well as personal organization and time management. Using a trauma-aware lens I also incorporate components of a variety of social-emotional programs such as How Do" less...