My son was born different. I didn’t notice how much that would be a problem until he started school. It took 6 years of headaches, tummy aches, tears, wetting his pants, purposely throwing up, uncontrollable ticks, constant errors on paper when it came to tests, constant reminders that my child was impulsive, unorganized, easily distracted, lazy, lacks effort, to be diagnosed with anxiety and possibly ADHD. We went to therapy with a child-adolescent mental health worker for another 5 years. We did really well with cognitive behavioural therapy. He was put on Concerta, and never did get a learning assignment for ADHD because he was “t grade level”. We went from me running and picking him up or letting him stay home whenever he threw up, to me sitting with him in the car or at school until he was ready to try and get through the day. Now, almost finished high school, he’ll take two to three days a month, and I tell the administration that he’s taking a mental health day: no, he’s not sick; he’s overwhelmed. It’s been a long journey to get here; the school still doesn’t seem as supportive as I would like; teachers still criticize his behaviour or the physical symptoms that clearly scream his anxiety is getting the best of him. But we are truly grateful that he’s made a few relationships with a couple of teachers that get him and will work through his challenges and difficulties, and you can see in his marks the confidence they have given him.