Autistic, award-winning educator, researcher and founder of Autistic PhD
Meet Erika Sanborne
Personal Connection to Autism
Latest Article by Erika
Professional Bio
Erika Sanborne (she/they) is a psychological science and math educator with two decades of classroom experience. She regularly consults with faculty and academic leadership on accessible course design and inclusive pedagogy. Her focus is on helping educators support students and one another, while protecting their own capacity to keep doing the work. In short: we strategize and figure it out together.
Erika is a disabled U.S. veteran for peace, ordained UCC clergy, and a researcher in disabilty policy and population health. She brings both academic expertise and lived experience to learning environments, with the goal of improving accessibility at all levels. She is currently a 6th-year full-time Sociology PhD Candidate at the University of Minnesota and expects to defend her dissertation in Fall 2025. Its working title is "Leave No One Behind: Disability, Well-Being, and National Policy."
More About the Author
The Autistic PhD project began in response to the daily messages Erika receives from neurodivergent people who are trying to figure things out. They're not looking for abstract theory or inaccessible academic papers. They're seeking clear and honest writing that connects research with the real challenges they have known in their everyday life.
Whether it's autistic adults, grad students navigating higher ed, parents searching for answers, or educators working to do better, readers come here because Erika explains things in ways that make sense. Many then share articles from this website with their therapists, professors, mentors and colleagues. Some of those professionals are now hiring Erika for consulting as well, because someone they care about pointed them here.
Erika is so very grateful for a life that's both improbable and joyful. She’s also very clumsy, which makes it all the more remarkable that she managed to stumble into marrying the perfect partner for her.
Their relationship often appears in articles and on social media, and feedback often shared is that they are "relationship goals."
