Hello Mr. Beer
It's been five weeks since the end of the AVWF, and I'd like to tell you how things are going.
Right after therapy, we hardly recognized Daniel. So much has changed in him. He was completely calm, content, and relaxed. He's never had such a wonderful birthday before; I think he was able to enjoy it for the first time – and so were we :-). Little by little, however, old and new behavioral patterns crept in. Around Christmas time, he became quite spiteful again, and his irritation threshold was very low. He also had outbursts again, but never to the extent he used to. During the Christmas holidays, I think he was totally under-challenged; he missed school. What we've noticed is that Daniel often goes into overdrive. He sings loudly and has "talking diarrhea" – he didn't have that before. I think he's now found another outlet to let out the feelings he used to bottle up. His mouth wrap licking has improved significantly; he only does it when he's very excited, insecure, or nervous. His motor skills have also improved significantly, as has his posture. When doing homework, he now sits calmly and upright in his chair and is increasingly completing the tasks on his own. He hasn't wet himself again, and I don't notice him grinding his teeth at night. What's also very noticeable is that he can laugh at jokes or even at himself and no longer takes everything personally and gets offended.
On difficult days, we get impatient and have to constantly remind ourselves how much better and, in some cases, even very well everything is going. Daniel has definitely become much more cooperative and content, and we are very grateful for that.
Until the next report, I wish you a good time and a wonderful weekend!
Best regards
B. L.