Jess Tuff

I got to really support my daughters a lot more than parents normally do. I knew my oldest daughter was a little bit unique. There's that weird thing when you're a parent. It doesn't matter if you're an expert in the field. You have a bias. So it's hard to trust your own judgment. I asked people, do you see anything I'm not seeing or is there anything I should be aware of?

And they assured me, nope, nothing at all. There were a lot of other kids at that point in time showing some unique behaviors and emotional struggles. It wasn't until she went into the school district and it didn't really have that support system in place anymore. And it all went downhill. I really had to fight for her to be treated as an individual, which led me to where I am now.

And they assured me, nope, nothing at all. There were a lot of other kids at that point in time showing some unique behaviors and emotional struggles. It wasn't until she went into the school district and it didn't really have that support system in place anymore. And it all went downhill. I really had to fight for her to be treated as an individual, which led me to where I am now.

And they assured me, nope, nothing at all. There were a lot of other kids at that point in time showing some unique behaviors and emotional struggles. It wasn't until she went into the school district and it didn't really have that support system in place anymore. And it all went downhill. I really had to fight for her to be treated as an individual, which led me to where I am now.

A year on wait list, a year of being bullied for the diagnosis to get them to support her. All they had to do was have someone stand next to her outside at recess and help her.

A year on wait list, a year of being bullied for the diagnosis to get them to support her. All they had to do was have someone stand next to her outside at recess and help her.

A year on wait list, a year of being bullied for the diagnosis to get them to support her. All they had to do was have someone stand next to her outside at recess and help her.

Second grade. She's in fourth grade now.

Second grade. She's in fourth grade now.

Second grade. She's in fourth grade now.

Yeah, she's been in therapy since before the diagnosis. She actually asked me if she could see a therapist that year. She told me what was going on at school. They were playing a game at recess. Her friend, it was called Danger. And the person that was Danger, everyone would point, laugh, and run away from them. That was the game. But she was always Danger. Wow.

Yeah, she's been in therapy since before the diagnosis. She actually asked me if she could see a therapist that year. She told me what was going on at school. They were playing a game at recess. Her friend, it was called Danger. And the person that was Danger, everyone would point, laugh, and run away from them. That was the game. But she was always Danger. Wow.

Yeah, she's been in therapy since before the diagnosis. She actually asked me if she could see a therapist that year. She told me what was going on at school. They were playing a game at recess. Her friend, it was called Danger. And the person that was Danger, everyone would point, laugh, and run away from them. That was the game. But she was always Danger. Wow.

So every day at recess, this was happening to her. And she'd always depended on myself or her sister to help her make friends and socialize. She struggled in school. It wasn't quite as accepting. After talking to a lot of different experts in autism, that's the age when the other kids notice you're a little bit different. So that was a really hard year for her to go through.

So every day at recess, this was happening to her. And she'd always depended on myself or her sister to help her make friends and socialize. She struggled in school. It wasn't quite as accepting. After talking to a lot of different experts in autism, that's the age when the other kids notice you're a little bit different. So that was a really hard year for her to go through.

So every day at recess, this was happening to her. And she'd always depended on myself or her sister to help her make friends and socialize. She struggled in school. It wasn't quite as accepting. After talking to a lot of different experts in autism, that's the age when the other kids notice you're a little bit different. So that was a really hard year for her to go through.

I got her on the wait list with Fraser after the school denied an assessment, got her in therapy. The next year after the assessment, she had the best teacher in the entire world. He really turned her opinion of school into something completely different. He's brilliant. He looks at the students like I look at children and their own unique individual characteristics.

I got her on the wait list with Fraser after the school denied an assessment, got her in therapy. The next year after the assessment, she had the best teacher in the entire world. He really turned her opinion of school into something completely different. He's brilliant. He looks at the students like I look at children and their own unique individual characteristics.

I got her on the wait list with Fraser after the school denied an assessment, got her in therapy. The next year after the assessment, she had the best teacher in the entire world. He really turned her opinion of school into something completely different. He's brilliant. He looks at the students like I look at children and their own unique individual characteristics.

And the label didn't really matter to me because she is who she is. And that's the same way with all the other people in the world, not just kids. We're all unique. If we could all look at ourselves and get to know who we are, it would be a lot easier for us to be accepting of other people.