However, she could not count numbers, could not read and had an no interest in academia. This continued until age five (5) when Ashley entered kindergarten, at which time she was formerly tested and diagnosed with a severe learning disability, attention deficit disorder, mild mental retardation (old term) and had a pervasive developmental disability, with limited probability for growing out of it.

By the end of first grade, the public school teachers became very concerned, and most concluded that Ashley could not learn and would most likely not ever be able to learn. Of course, as a Mom and a firm believer in my child’s God- given abilities, I just could NOT accept the teacher’s and the medical expert’s prognoses. This was the start of my advocacy journey for Ashley’s future and her right to “live life to her fullest potential”. Ashley continued to struggle with academic learning in spite of every effort, until one day her second grade teacher introduced her to phonics! She grasped the concept and it was like a light bulb turned on inside her brain. She began making progress and we were so excited! Then suddenly, on January 10, 1994, during fourth grade, she suffered a severe grand mall seizure. She was hospitalized and many tests were performed to determine what happened and why. It was later determined that Ashley now had another medical diagnosis to add to her list of challenges – epilepsy. Life became extremely agonizing for Ashley and me as we searched for medical help and for someone to say none of this was real and it was not happening. But, it was very real.