About The Confident Parenting Collective

Welcome parents! I’m Erica Desper, the Founder of Confident Parenting, which was born in 2011 out of my own challenging entry into parenting and the lack of a village of support to help me navigate it. 

After 10 years of supporting parents to address sleep, potty-training and other challenges, my family’s journey turned toward struggling with learning differences and immense challenges getting them diagnosed and addressed adequately in school. This journey started in preschool and is ongoing now, as my son enters 7th grade. 

In a search for support and resources I joined a local Facebook group for parents of children with special needs and then started my own local group for parents navigating similar learning differences and membership exploded overnight. 

Hearing parents' stories and struggles in these groups showed me that there was a HUGE need in our local community for parents entering and navigating the special needs journey. The idea for the Confident Parenting Collective was born! My goals in creating this resources are:

• To help families learn about the resources available to them, early on in their journey and with far less effort than it took me to find them.
• To vet resources for families so they can avoid some of the unpleasant support experiences we have gone through.
• To educate parents about the 504 and IEP processes so they can advocate effectively for their child. 

Our journey has been very long, stressful and somewhat traumatic and is far from over. If I can spare even one family that experience, or help them to feel more supported and less overwhelmed along the way, my mission will be complete. I hope you find this directory helpful and feedback is more than welcome.

If you have worked with a person or resource you loved and would like to see listed, let us know!