From the day Ally was born we knew she was a "strong willed" child as a close friend of mine would say. At one year old she cracked a dozen eggs on my coffee table. At two years old she climbed on the counter top while I was changing my four month olds diaper and poured flour in my toaster. At three years old she stuck a small toy metal key in a light socket. At four years old she was labeled as "difficult" in the church childcare room. All the while we just thought that she was being "difficult" or "strong willed" but normal. At five years old she started kindergarten. That is when the ball started rolling downhill fast. She started having accidents in her pants at school. Everyday she was messing her pants at school. Never in her life had she had an accident before, even through potty training. When the fun part of Kindergarten was over and it was time to learn site words, she rebelled. She would scream at the teacher, stomp her feet, and even run out of the room. I had never known of a child acting like this. However, I still just thought it was part of her "strong willed" attitude. She barely made it through Kindergarten. First grade she started a new school. At the beginning of the year she was ok. Then she started having what I called "hissy fits". Someone else would call them tantrums. She only had them at school. Screaming, stomping her feet, and even throwing things. After several meetings with her teacher we decided to place her in a Special Education program. She was evaluated by the school psychologist to qualify for an IEP (Individualized Eduaction Program). Because I already had the thought that she could be ADD I was hoping for the psychologist to confirm my thoughts. At the time we couldn't afford Health Insurance or Dr. bills for me to have her properly evaluated. The psychologist approved her transferal to the ED (Emotionally Disturbed) classroom. From then on she had to go only to that classroom with 7 other children. She finished first grade and second grade in that class. She was still having occasional "hissy fits" but it looked as if things were improving slightly. For her third grade year the program received a new teacher. The teacher and her butted heads almost immediately. The good news was that we were finally able to get Health Insurance! As soon as I could I took her to a pediatrician. He advised that we see a psychologist to have her evaluated for ADD, ADHD, and ODD. It took two months to complete the evaluation. In April of 2011 at 9 years old she was diagnosed with ADHD. It is still a struggle but through medication and a wonderful program through her newest school, she is making great improvements.

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