PECS

Anthony has been working with PECS for one week and it's been going really, really well.  The first day his therapist told me how great it went and I thought nothing of it but by Friday his program manager came out to Mike and said that he is doing really well.  She said that he had FOUR hot dogs for lunch on Friday, that he had requested.  I hate to be so optimistic but it sounds really great.  It seems like for years and I mean YEARS we have been working on stuff with Anthony that seemed like it was for nothing.  Like, he's been looking at things for a certain amount of time, scanning a bunch of stuff and picking something out, etc. etc, and now he's applying what he's learned and hopefully it will help him communicate better.  It feels like we are on the edge of something big.  I hope so, anyway.

He's doing fine, he has really been enjoying the Wiggles lately.  He's been wearing his braces for a few months and although he certainly doesn't seem to LIKE them, he wears them.  I have no idea if they are helping.  He usually hops right back up on his toes when he is out of them.  I hope and pray he doesn't have to have surgery.

My friend Marta belongs to this Catholic group called Communion and Liberation.  The founder of it is Fr. Luigi Guissani and he is, I'm not sure how to say it, but like, he's on the road to beatification or sainthood or whatever order that all goes in.  Anyways, she gave me this prayer card where you can pray to God that Fr. Guissani becomes a saint and you can ask for your own miracle.  SO I've been praying for Fr. Guissani and praying that Anthony gets ... better.  I hate to say gets better, I don't think of him as SICK or WORSE or something but better is the word that I mean when I say that I hope he communicates better, feels happier, learns to live in the world better, you know, it's a lot!  So I hope that Fr. Guissani hears me in heaven and then he can pray for Anthony and then Anthony can get better (you know what I mean) and then Fr. Guissani can become a Saint and then Anthony can be happier and that, my friends, is what I would call a win-win of the highest order.