Erika Vetter

Instructor

Blossom Birth & Family

Erika Vetter fell in love with sign language in her childhood, when she befriended a Deaf girl in her Brownie Scout troop. This friendship continued for many years and led her to volunteer in the hard-of-hearing preschool during recess when she was still in elementary school.  Erika received her Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology and Audiology with Teacher Certification at Elmira College.  She earned her Master's Degree as a Teacher for the Deaf for grades K-12 from Canisius College in upstate New York.  Erika has taught both Deaf and hearing children for the past 18 years in schools such as the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and the California School for the Deaf in Fremont and currently works as an ASL interpreter and instructor.  Erika's thesis on teaching ASL to preverbal hearing children, along with her recent coursework in bilingual education, has reinforced her belief that signing with children can produce amazing results.  All three of her children started signing between six and seven months old and still sign on a daily basis.  Erika delights in seeing children empowered with a tremendous ability to communicate effectively at a very early age and is eager to share her experience and enthusiasm with you.