It started with meltdowns.

Belleville three-year-old Elessia Couldridge is an outgoing, active, articulate toddler who sings to her baby brother and is obsessed with the animated musical .

Yet in last August, something changed. It would lead to a surprise medical diagnosis and major lifestyle changes for her young family.

Elessia’s mother, Tatiana Forstner, said there was a sudden shift in the girl’s behaviour.

In late August, Forstner said, “She was suddenly having giant meltdowns she couldn’t be talked out of, and she’s always been very reasonable.”

Next, she said, Elessia “was suddenly draining her water bottle multiple times a day” – a fact noticed by staff at her daycare centre – and peeing more often than usual.

Forstner said she also noticed her daughter would eat a “ridiculou

See Full Page