About Me

  • I believe that music learning is for all. However, learners experience the world and gain skills and knowledge in different ways. Embracing neurodiversity can help music educators ensure that all students, especially those who are neurodivergent, receive equitable access to music learning.

    I believe that the unique expertise of neurodivergent music educators should be at the forefront of this effort. By coming together as a community, we can better support each other and our students.

  • I have ten years of experience teaching general music, primarily in urban and Title 1 elementary schools. I have also taught beginning instrumental music and middle school general music, as well as onsite programming at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and music enrichment classes for children with Down Syndrome at Gigi’s Playhouse Cleveland. I am currently a teaching assistant for music teacher education courses and supervise student teachers at Case Western Reserve University.

  • I have two primary research areas:

    1. Qualitative exploration of the lived experiences of neurodivergent music educators, students, listeners, performers, and creators.

    2. Quantitative inquiry into the cognitive processes involved in music learning.

    Both of these areas contribute to understanding how to make music education work for all brains!

  • October 2023 Enacting the Neurodiversity Paradigm in Music, Symposium on Music Teacher Education

    April 2023 Musical Stimming in Autistic Adults, CWRU Music Graduate Student Association Conference

    February 2023 Perspectives and Expertise of Secondary Music Educators with ADHD, Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Learning and Teaching

    February 2023 (Webber, Samantha & Hopkins, Erin J.) Music Access in Elementary Self-Contained Special Education, Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Learning and Teaching

    February 2023 Music Learners on the Spectrum: Perspectives of an Autistic Music Educator, Ohio Music Education Association Conference

    February 2023 Multiple Pitch Perspectives: A Cognitive Perspective, Ohio Music Educators Association Conference

    *Full CV Available Upon Request

  • Mehr, S. A., Singh, M., Knox, D., Ketter, D. M., Pickens-Jones, D., Atwood, S., Lucas, C., Jacoby, N., Egner, A., Hopkins, E. J., Howard, R. M., Hartshorne, J. K., Jennings, M. V., Simson, J., Bainbridge, C. M., Pinker, S., O’Donnell, T. J., Krasnow, M. M., & Glowacki, L. (2019). Universality and diversity in human song. Science, 366(6468), 957–970. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax0868

    Mehr, S. A., Singh, M., Knox, D., Ketter, D. M., Pickens-Jones, D., Atwood, S., Lucas, C., Egner, A., Jacoby, N., Hopkins, E. J., Howard, R. M., O’Donnell, T. J., Pinker, S., Krasnow, M. M., & Glowacki, L. (2019, April). A natural history of song. Paper presented at the European Human Behavior and Evolution Association Annual Conference, Toulouse, France.