Dawn M. Frim
My journey with Anna Kuznetsova is a masterclass in the power of consistency and lifelong community connection. It began 21 years ago in my classroom at Malden High School, where I had the privilege of teaching her for eight years. After her graduation, our bond defied standard educational timelines, continuing for another decade through regular social visits at my home and celebrating Anna’s birthdays together.
Today, for the past three-and-a-half years, I’ve proudly served as her specialized support in a unique framework she affectionately calls “Program Fairy Godmother” (PFG).
Our daily success is rooted in a hybrid approach: my professional educator background combined with the profound “heart-knowledge” taught to me by Anna’s mother, Olga. Together, we navigate the complex, unique overlap of Autism and Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS). While both diagnoses require deliberate sensory support and strict routines, SMS demands an exceptionally high level of “social-seeking” connection to keep a person regulated.
The strategy that truly changed everything for us wasn’t found in a standard behavioral chart. Instead, it was a “Mother’s Method” centered entirely on deep relational connection. We communicate through a “secret language” of love-names, like “Kafoofy,” using shared humor to gently redirect moments of aggression. When she is frustrated and calls me a “Witch,” I don’t respond with clinical firmness; I pivot. I ask her if I’m the Wicked Witch, which instantly breaks the tension. She smiles and calls me “Glinda the Good Witch.”
Anna isn’t just a recipient of care; she actively pours love back into my entire household. I have watched her grow from a 15-year-old student into a vibrant 36-year-old woman. My husband, whom she calls “Fairy God-dad,” recently commented that Anna was “the best-behaved grandchild” during a family gathering.
This beautifully illustrates what true, radical inclusion looks like. Anna is welcomed into my family home simultaneously as a client and a cherished family member. Over two decades, rigid clinical boundaries have completely softened into a genuine human connection. All it takes is the right “click.”
Dawn M. Frim, M.S.Ed., M.S
Peabody
