23 September 2022

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year. Shana tova.

The speech therapist gave Nathaniel a whistle to practice breathing and exhaling. It is not easy for him, but he is working on it. When he hears the whistle, he knows that he has been successful.

Nathaniel has a communication board on his iPad where he can communicate his wants or needs based on a picture. A doctor suggested that maybe he could learn to use a keyboard app where he can type what he wants. That means that he must recognize the letters and know how to spell. So, we are working on letter recognition with the iPad and with Scrabble tiles. He is progressing slowly. We are also working on his writing skills so that he could have the option to write what he wants. That is a bit more challenging because he used to be a rightie and now he is a leftie.

One of Nathaniel’s caregivers always hugs him to great him in the morning, and the caregiver makes a noise when he does it. Now, when Nathaniel hugs him back, Nathaniel himself also makes that noise, even without prompting or help.

A team from an organization that helps injured soldiers developed a musical device for Nathaniel so he could interact with friends. The device has with lighted buttons, different sounds, a looper, and more. He brought it with him when visiting friends and they had a great time making music together.