How personal experience, clinical practice, research, and national advocacy have shaped one clinician's commitment to understanding learning differences.
For Erica Richards, MSN, PMHNP-BC, understanding learning disabilities is more than a professional interest. It is a commitment shaped by her experiences as a parent, her work in mental health care, and her belief that every child deserves to be understood beyond a diagnosis.
Today, Erica brings those perspectives together through her leadership with the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), her ongoing doctoral research, and her advocacy for students and families navigating special education.
Her work reflects a central belief: meaningful support begins with understanding the whole person.
A Personal Experience That Became a Broader Commitment
Erica's involvement in learning disability advocacy began close to home.
As a parent of children with learning and attention differences, she experienced firsthand the challenges families can encounter when trying to understand a child's needs and secure appropriate educational support.
Those experiences helped shape her interest in early identification, specialized instruction, and the ways learning differences can influence a child's confidence and emotional well-being.
In September 2021, the Portland Press Herald featured Erica's efforts to raise awareness and funding for students with learning disabilities in Maine.
She organized fundraising activities connected to the Maine Marathon, with a goal of raising $25,000 for scholarships at Aucocisco School in Cape Elizabeth.
The effort reflected a concern extending beyond her own family: ensuring that students who need specialized educational support have greater opportunities to access it.
Read: Falmouth parent running to spread awareness of learning disabilities — Portland Press Herald
From Family Advocacy to National Leadership
Erica's commitment eventually expanded into national leadership.
In 2024, she became a founding member of the Family Leadership Council at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, an organization dedicated to improving opportunities for individuals with learning and attention differences.
The council brings together parents and caregivers whose lived experiences help inform the organization's advocacy, research, and policy priorities.
In August 2025, Erica was appointed to NCLD's Board of Directors as a representative of the Family Leadership Council.
This role gives her an opportunity to contribute to national conversations about educational access, family engagement, and systemic change.
Her perspective is particularly distinctive because it brings together the experiences of a parent, a psychiatric mental health provider, and an emerging researcher.
Why Special Education Shouldn't Depend on a Parent's Ability to Advocate
In September 2026, Erica contributed directly to the national conversation through an opinion article published in The 74, titled “Why Access to Special Education Depends Too Much on Parents.”
Drawing on the experiences of families participating in an NCLD focus group, Erica examined a recurring problem: families often encounter complicated evaluations, unfamiliar terminology, and inconsistent communication while seeking educational support for their children.
Her argument challenges the expectation that parents must become experts in educational systems simply to ensure their children's needs are recognized.
Instead, she calls for clearer communication, comprehensive evaluation, and more transparent information about student progress.
The distinction is important.
Family advocacy can be powerful. But equitable access to educational services should not depend on a caregiver's time, resources, or ability to navigate an unfamiliar system.
Erica's writing reflects a broader commitment to making families genuine partners in educational decision-making.
Read Erica's article: Why Access to Special Education Depends Too Much on Parents — The 74
Connecting Research, Education, and Mental Health
Alongside her advocacy and clinical practice, Erica is pursuing a PhD in Nursing with a research focus on learning disorders, neurodiversity, and the experiences of families navigating educational systems.
Her academic interests include early identification, evidence-based intervention and instruction, and strengthening the ability of parents and educators to advocate effectively.
These concerns also connect to an important dimension of mental health.
For some individuals, learning and attention differences can affect much more than academic performance.
Repeated misunderstandings, difficulty accessing appropriate support, and the experience of feeling different from peers can influence self-confidence, relationships, and emotional well-being.
Understanding these experiences requires looking beyond outward behavior or a diagnostic label.
It requires curiosity about the person, their environment, and the experiences that have shaped how they see themselves.
Bringing That Perspective Into The Mentalizing Collaborative
At The Mentalizing Collaborative, Erica provides psychotherapy and psychiatric care grounded in curiosity, collaboration, and understanding.
Her commitment to learning disability advocacy informs the perspective she brings to individuals and families navigating learning and attention differences.
Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) emphasizes understanding the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that influence behavior and relationships.
For someone experiencing emotional difficulties alongside learning or attention differences, this approach can offer space to explore how those experiences affect their sense of self and their relationships with others.
Psychotherapy does not replace specialized educational instruction or school-based supports. Rather, it can address emotional and relational concerns that may accompany those experiences.
Erica's work across clinical care, research, and advocacy reflects an appreciation for the different kinds of support people may need.
Leading With Understanding
From raising awareness in Maine to serving on a national board and contributing to conversations about educational equity, Erica's commitment to learning disabilities has continued to evolve.
What connects these efforts is not simply an interest in diagnoses, policies, or educational systems.
It is a belief that individuals should be recognized for their strengths, understood in the context of their experiences, and given meaningful opportunities to thrive.
Understanding a learning difference should never mean losing sight of the person.
That conviction continues to inform Erica's advocacy, scholarship, and approach to mental health care.
Continue Exploring
Learn more about Learning, ADHD & School Challenges, explore Erica's approach to psychotherapy, or read more about Erica.
Published by The Mentalizing Collaborative. This article highlights Erica Richards' publicly documented advocacy, leadership, and professional interests.
