I did not just study this.
I live it every morning.
My story
I received the call in the basement.
I had gone downstairs to take it in private. When the psychologist told me my son had been diagnosed with ADHD, I already knew what the answer would be. For years I had known something was different about him. And yet when I heard the words, I paused. Then I cried.
I kept telling myself: you knew this. You are a Special Education teacher. You learned how to deal with this. You have got this.
Then I went upstairs to find him. When I saw him, I hugged him and kissed him and told him how much I love him. He looked at me, puzzled by my sudden reaction, and said: I love you too, mommy.
My son has since been diagnosed with ADHD combined type, ODD, anxiety, and depression.
In the beginning I asked God many times: why? I do not ask that anymore.
Now I see his diagnosis and everything we experience every day as a blessing and as a learning experience. There are still days when I feel frustrated, upset, and exhausted. But I know God has a purpose for my son and for me. I see his strengths more than I see his needs. He is wonderful. He is exceptional. And he is teaching me something new every single day.
I had the advantage of being a trained Early Childhood Special Education professional when we received his diagnosis. I knew the research. I knew the frameworks. And I still cried, because knowing the theory and living it with your child at six in the morning are two completely different things.
What I did not have was someone who had been in both places. Someone who could sit with me not as a clinician assessing my son, but as a parent who understood the specific weight of raising a child whose needs do not fit one box.
That is the practitioner I became. And that is what Wonderfully Exceptional is.
Professional Training
A longtime Early Childhood Special Education professional with years of hands-on experience working with children and families navigating complex learning and developmental needs.
Lived Experience
Raising a richly layered child with ADHD, ODD, anxiety, and depression. The strategies I share are ones I use at home every day.
Years of Practice
Years of working directly with children and families navigating special education systems, IEPs, and the daily realities of raising richly layered children.
The families I was built for.
Parents of children ages 3 to 10 whose ADHD does not show up alone.
Families who have read everything and are still standing at 7am wondering what to do next.
Parents who have been told what to do but have never felt truly seen in how hard it is to do it.
Caregivers who need someone to sit with them before they need someone to advise them.
Please note: Wonderfully Exceptional provides parent coaching and consulting services only. Services are not clinical, medical, psychological, or therapeutic care. Diana Perilla is not a licensed clinician. All services are provided to parents and caregivers. Contact Diana with any questions about fit.