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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Dec 18, 20243 min read
Introduction
Because I started this blog last summer and have already written several entries, I’m doing this a little backwards. Completely in...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jan 292 min read
The Wisdom of Seth
So, I was upset the other day for a variety of reasons, and Seth was trying to comfort me. I wasn't very receptive at the time, but he...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jan 222 min read
A poem about dyspraxia
I am constantly grappling with shame-based messages my brain keeps throwing up at me, so I decided to fuel my upset into poetry. I read...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jan 153 min read
Spending time with Seth's girlfriend
This past weekend, I had the unexpected pleasure of spending quality time with Seth’s girlfriend of almost one year, N. N with a rainbow...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jan 122 min read
Sharing the healing journey
“Pain shared is pain divided.” [1] One of the biggest challenges I have faced in the aftermath of my extremely traumatic childhood (which...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jan 122 min read
"Bad Parenting"
I was scrolling through posts on a social media site when I came across this comment: “The issue is everyone blames autism for everything...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jan 42 min read
Excerpt #2 from "Mending Together, Building Together"
Chapter 17: Discipline With the gift of hindsight, I have come to understand that discipline isn’t about showing kids who’s in control....
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Dec 30, 20243 min read
The Māori word for autism
I recently learned that until just a few years ago, the Māori [1] language of New Zealand didn’t have a word for autism. According to...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Dec 13, 20243 min read
What causes autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?
This is a question that has been on the minds of concerned parents and the medical community for a very long time. Some insist ASD is...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Dec 10, 20242 min read
Re-imagining the puzzle piece symbol
According to “The Ableist History of the Puzzle Piece Symbol for Autism,” an article from the website, In the Loop about Neurodiversity,...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jul 30, 20242 min read
Teaching done right
After Seth failed Latin, I was left with a conundrum. He still needed to finish high school, but by this point, Seth didn't want to give...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jul 22, 20244 min read
Excerpt #1 from "Mending Together, Building Together"
Chapter 6: Having My Baby Pregnancy The day I found out I was pregnant, I was ecstatic. I vowed to avoid doing anything that could...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jul 5, 20244 min read
This Child was Left Behind - part 3 of 3
Had Seth been assigned an IEP early on, we might have been able to prevent what eventually happened. That said, this wasn’t entirely the...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jul 3, 20241 min read
Seth-isms
Seth sitting in a grassy field. Age 1. Seth has always had a unique way of looking at the world. I have dubbed his nuggets of wisdom and...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jul 2, 20243 min read
This Child was Left Behind - part 2 of 3
Seth started his freshman year of high school at the age of 16 – in September 2020 – when school was online. Seth’s teachers loved him...
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Rachel Zirkin Duda
Jun 29, 20243 min read
This Child was Left Behind - part 1 of 3
My son, Seth, is a 19-year-old young man who is intelligent, kindhearted, quick-witted, and wise beyond his years. He has always danced...
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