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She learned to value working directly with people through assessment , diagnosis , and treatment to restore the level of functioning they had before the accident , injury or event that caused impairment . The lack of community from colleagues , paired with the small clinically sterile office influenced her to change her focus in the field of neuropsychology .
She met a friend who wanted to start an event planning company , and decided to help out , having always loved events . This “ temporary help ” grew into her owning her own event planning and design company for ten years , including creating events for movie premiers , high profile weddings and music events all over the United States . Eventually however , Dr . Ferdico wanted to return to helping people , and opened her own clinic , focusing on neurodevelopmental assessment , where she actively assesses sensory and cognitive functioning . Through working with kids and their families with varying degrees of support needs , she can educate families and companies on how best to support the neurodiverse brains in the world .
The amalgamation of varied life and work experiences have prepared her for her business , Sensory Access , which focuses on helping disabled individuals better access events and travel experiences .
While working on her doctorate in the late 1990 ’ s , she noticed that venues , organizations , schools , and public places in general claim accessibilityfriendliness because of their wheelchair ramps and other accommodations based on physical disabilities . However , other forms of disabilities like neurological : hearing , visual , sensory , and cognitive are often overlooked because of their “ invisibility .” The first lesson Dr . Ferdico learned in college : people and organizations seldomly think of neurodivergent people when they consider disability inclusion .
Her neurodiverse family has allowed her personal experience with accessibility in the public domain . Having an autistic son , a neurodivergent daughter , and an auditory processing condition herself , hyperacusis , meant that this was more than an area of interest , it was a way of life . She talks a lot aout how neurodivergent brains often struggle during travel . All the different sights , sounds , linguistic differences , and overall aura of varying places disrupts familiar and rigid cognitive processes However , having a slow , safe exposure to different ways of doing things can actually improve cognitive flexibility for people with neurodivergent conditions . She gave the example of her son , who stopped speaking at a young age . Over time however , with support , slow exposure to travel , theatre and other experiences , he now leads trainings in front of large groups about his experiences as an autistic person . Dr . Ferdico bearing witness to this incremental exposure firsthand has influenced her perception of the growth that traveling offers neurodiverse people .
She then speaks about the negative connotations of “ disability ” based on society ’ s misconceptions regarding the relationship between the disabled person and the built environment . She discussed that there is nothing wrong with how a neurodivergent brain processes information ; it is just different . It is our society that is not built for different bodies and different brains , and that the idea of “ Universal design ”, design built for everybody is the ultimate goal .
Dr . Ferdico speaks of her work with Tourism Boards and global events , such as the World ’ s Fair in Dubai , which by March 2022 will have hosted an estimated 25 million guests . Sensory Access has developed the concept of a “ sensory rating card ” which allows individuals to have a quick preview of the sensory impact of a travel destination , event or themepark ride . The process utilizes a team of Neurodivergent auditors to provide both subjective ratings and objective measurement such as decibel levels and