
In case you are out of the loop, Alli has struggled since she started kindergarten. It is so hard to watch your child struggle in kindergarten. Kindergarten should be easy, confidence building and fun! At first, she had a hard time being apart from Milana, her twin, for a full day. Every other transition during their lifetime had been made together. Now, they faced a huge one alone! They had been fine in preschool, each attending four days with one going on Tuesday alone and the other on Thursdays. So, I did not anticipate how much Alli relied on Milana's presence for her confidence. However, after a few months of working with Alli, it became apparent that separation anxiety wasn't the answer for all of her difficulties. She struggled to recite the alphabet all the way through, count to a certain number and was not making expected progress with reading. She also struggled with huge levels of anxiety because she was missing cues during class and transitions. With this level of anxiety came some odd behaviors that served to lower her anxiety. Unfortunately, they did not help her socially adapt. Once we figured out that she has ADHD inattentive type, with some extra help, her academic issues were quickly resolved. In fact, it turns out that Alli is really bright! It has been such a joy to see her brain process and learn to it's potential.
As I said earlier, I thought I was prepared to hear anything her teacher had to say, but I was wrong. It was ALL positive! Don't get me wrong, her handwriting could use a bit of tweaking--but, so could my husband's! When looking at her writing sample, I could read her thoughts (yes, plural--there was more than one thought :), which is much more than I could say for last year's writing. For the first time since preschool, it was clear that Alli is exactly where she should be, both academically and socially. I am relieved, yes, I am so proud of her hard work, too. But it is much deeper than that. I am bursting with joy! It is searing my soul. My little Alli is finding her groove.
She will shine!