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Join date: Mar 14, 2022
About
ABBY KIRIGIN, Ed.D.
Executive Director
Abby worked in tech and startups as an interaction designer for several years before pivoting to education as a result of raising her own twice-exceptional children. Abby received a doctorate from the Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education, where she developed a curriculum to support neurodivergent middle schoolers in strengths-based career exploration. She holds a Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon and a BA from NYU.
Posts (5)
Jun 12, 2026 ∙ 8 min
Three Strategies for Strengths This Summer
Sarah hated school and resisted writing, leaving teachers frustrated. Yet, she stayed up all night writing a script and directing neighborhood kids in a play. Reframed around her interests, her motivation soared. As noted by REEL, "Magic happens at the intersection of strengths and interests." Once you understand what makes a child light up, you can nurture it.
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Jan 26, 2026 ∙ 3 min
Dyslexia and Giftedness
Meet Caleb. He’s gifted, with extremely high verbal comprehension, while at the same time, his dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD means he struggles to read, write, and act like everyone else. This results in an interesting mix - he is fiercely independent, creative, and inquisitive. He’s always coming at things from a different angle, and putting disparate things together - both physical things and abstract concepts. He loves to think, talk, and make connections, but resists putting anything...
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Jan 7, 2026 ∙ 4 min
Flexibility, Belonging and the Power of UDL for 2e Learners
Welcome to the first in a series of educator case studies, where we hear from school leaders about what they’re doing to support neurodivergent and 2e learners in their schools. We’ll hear practical tips and advice from both public and private schools about what is working for their communities. The first article is on flexibility, belonging and UDL from Victoria Trevor, Head of School at Athena Academy and member of REEL's Educator Advisory Group . If there is one thing that stands out when...
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Abby Kirigin
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Executive Director, REEL
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