Butterfly Girl

Phyllis Hoffman knew something was wrong with her child from the start of her pregnancy.

When her baby girl was twelve months old, their pediatrician said, “Troy is fine. She has a neurotic Jewish mother.”

When Troy was two, a professor at the University of Miami told Phyllis and her husband to put Troy away and forget about her.

Despite the advice, this mother never stopped trying to do what she knew was best for her daughter. Their experiences in the public school system were at times har...