24 August 2022

Nathaniel is vocalizing more and more, even without the help of the therapists. He still hasn’t learned to make different sounds by opening and closing his lips, but he seems to be starting to understand the concept.

Nathaniel now smiles and shows some emotions with facial expressions. When he is playing a game and sees a good move, he no longer has a “poker face”. It is clear that he can see (and understand) a good move. When playing he seems to be capable of only focusing on offense (making moves to win) or defense (blocking the other player) but he cannot focus on doing both at the same time yet. Hopefully that will come with time.

The music therapist brought her son, who plays the darbuka drum. Nathaniel watched and followed the son’s lead. They were really playing together and enjoying!

There is an NGO that is run for and by injured soldiers. One of the activities of the NGO is to buy dogs for soldiers for them to train and enjoy. They are not therapy dogs, but rather enjoyment for the soldier and the families. Nathaniel went to their facility for a visit during which he petted each dog. The dogs and their owners then put on a show for him. Nathaniel really enjoyed this, especially petting the dogs, each with different fur textures.

Nathaniel has now started horse therapy. He likes to pet the horses and isn’t afraid of them. He seems to enjoy riding them as well.

The occupational therapist drew a map of Israel and then asked Nathaniel to point to where the different cities are located. He knew where each city was.