Spring Break Visit

Over spring break I went to visit my little brother in the asisted living he stays in. He is getting so strong and powerful over his single mother that it was getting too dangerous for him to stay with her. While he was living with her, he was also lacking any sort of development, even in regular every day tasks. Since he's been in this home, constantly one on one with a trained teacher he's made constant progress. He's learned to dress himself (although its a minor skill for most, its a major step with a severley retarted child with autism) and brush his teeth. Although they seem like small stepping stones that, it has taken him 12 years to be able to do them. He still hasn't been able to verbally communicate with other people, but progress is progress and it felt good to see him taking these steps. Before he was placed into the new living enviornment, he was constantly throwing full on temper tantrums in public. It took the assistance of three grown men to help get him in the car after one of these violent fits and he still continued to thrash and scream. These tantrums have slowed almost to a complete stop. Over all the visit to see him and meet the teachers he has been working with was a complete success!