Category: Facing Society
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What Does Inclusion Really Mean?
I was scared. “Ma’am, I don’t want to…” “Gayatri, why don’t you try? Just once?” I wanted to. Very much. But something held me back, something I did not have the words for at that age—the strange, tight knot of fear that sat in my chest even as my eyes followed the other children climbing,…
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What Stigma? And Why?
“My son has stopped responding to his name. He has stopped looking me in the eye. I think he’s autistic. But I’m afraid to take him for a diagnosis.” “But why? A diagnosis may clear things up, no? You’ll know what steps to take next.” “But suppose they say he is autistic… then what will…
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When a Child Cannot Speak, We Must
Children are society’s most vulnerable. And autistic children? Even more than “most.” A few nights ago, a friend shared a video. A horrible incident. In it, a so-called special educator thrashes a 10-year-old autistic boy in a school. I am not sharing the video here. Not because it should be hidden. But because I found…
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What Does “Normal” Really Mean?
Krishna, my 10-year-old son, is not “normal.” I wonder if your first reaction to this statement is: Why is she dissing her own son? I am not. Krishna is on the autism spectrum; he is neurodivergent. Don’t think—worse! She’s dissing those poor neurodivergent people! Rewind. Let’s look at the Merriam-Webster definition of “normal.” NormalAdjective :…