Thanks to Erika, our kiddos all benefited from her expertise and wise insights on play and language development. Specifically for us, we were focused on active play and signing with Adeline. We know we were already doing a considerable amount of this, but wanted to further our own knowledge and skills. Erika undoubtedly made that happen!
At a year Adeline had mastered over 2 dozen signs and a spoken vocabulary of ten words (and an array of animal sounds- her favorite). It is clear she is comfortable asking for what she needs (well either that or just running to get it herself:) and we absolutely attribute much of this development to the practices we learned from Erika. Massive thanks Erika and know Adeline and her mom can not wait to hug you in person someday soon!
Erika’s knowledge base is so vast, including newborns, speech acquisition, older children, adults, and far beyond. She is a wealth of knowledge and is an amazing resource for professionals. Erika is always there as a colleague to consult about my concerns and offer practical solutions, which are easily applied.
While privately tutoring an emergent speaker who was on the autistic spectrum, Erika helped me create and cater a program to his needs including structured play, that immediately helped this child show improvements in development of language and eye contact. The enthusiasm Erika has toward her field is unmatched by anyone I’ve ever worked with. She has a true gift and I’m lucky to have Erika as a support. All who meet her can feel her genuine nature and see her compassion towards everyone she works with. Erika is certainly my authority on all areas regarding speech and language!
We appreciate everything you did for [our daugher]. All of your efforts paid off – she’s eating like a champ! Thank you for your kindness and patience with us. As [our daughter’s] ‘feeding issues’ grew frustrating, you were always there to remind us she would get it one day.
When our son didn’t have many words by age two, we were introduced to Erika who immediately made a difference. She’s warm and affable and connects incredibly well with little ones. Her combined use of sign, PROMPT and play therapy proved to work wonders for our guy and the floodgates opened shortly thereafter. At three, our son is thriving. We can’t thank Erika enough for jumpstarting his speech!
Since working with Erika, my son is more communicative and I feel like I do a better job with developmental play. She provides great insight and ideas for play and language activities. As a new mom, I was such a beginner and now I feel more knowledgeable about my son’s language skills and development. I would recommend Erika to anyone whose child is having difficulties communicating or wants to get a jump start on language!
Erika is knowledgeable, approachable, easy to talk to, and very energetic. She has great interaction with babies! During a multi-week play series, Erika provided me with helpful tools to use in current and future developmental phases during play with my daughter. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a speech therapist.
We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Erika. She continually impresses me with her knowledge and patience to educate parents on nuances of speech development. Her warmth and energy is so authentic when interacting with the kids and I love how attuned she is to each of her clients in group settings. She is able to evolve each session by tailoring to the needs of the various personalities and dynamics of the kiddos. Erika is a fantastic teacher. She’s not there just to teach, but to really connect with the kids. We’re so lucky to be able to work with her.
It should not be underestimated how Erika's engaging demeanor with the parents on an intellectual level while introducing a concept, translates as direct modeling to children's behavior and conduct. Concepts don't have to be complex to be valuable either; just learning one ASL sign, that my daughter later replicated at home, was a huge milestone.
As a resident of San Francisco, where new learning opportunities are so available, it becomes that much more important to be selective in the type of influences I want molding and shaping my daughter’s early life experiences, and for that reason I strongly recommend Erika for both her teaching style and skills, and, for being the kind of person of character that I want my daughter to aspire to one day!
