10 June 2025

Nathaniel had his first Aliya since the terror attack. He was called to an Aliya to the Torah for the anniversary of his Bar Mitzvah. The week before, he and his caregivers were walking in the neighborhood. His Bar Mitzvah tutor saw them and invited him to come to the synagogue for an Aliyah. Nathaniel was very excited and worked with his speech therapist to decide what he wanted to do and how he could do it. As his name is in the Parsha, he indicated that he wanted to be called to the Torah for one of the aliyot with his name. Nathaniel is not yet able to speak. He communicates by nodding his head or shaking his finger. So he is certainly not yet able to recite the blessing out loud. He indicated that he wanted his tutor to recite the blessings for his Aliyah. On Shabbat morning, Nathaniel was called to the Torah. He stood right at the Torah and followed the entire time with his finger. He was very excited!

Another Shabbat, Nathaniel was at the synagogue for services. Every time it was appropriate to answer "amen" he nodded his head. He does that at home as well. He follows and responds to what is going on around him, whether he is in a large group or just with family.

He has become much more consistent with tapping twice on the handle of his wheelchair to get our attention.

Nathaniel made a video call to me while he was on vacation. I asked him who was with him. He rotated the phone so that I could see each of the caregivers. One was behind him pushing his wheelchair and the other was to his left. He had the dexterity to move the phone and the understanding to move it to show the caregivers on the phone.

Nathaniel can float on his back without any flotation devices, even when he is just with his caregivers. He knows how to keep his hips and feet up and he is strong enough to do it. We still have to make sure that he keeps his head facing up, but he usually can do that as well.