"Aneta smiles a lot, she is friendly and interacts with others. She often repeats words she has heard (echolalic speech). She gets fed pureed food by the staff. Does not allow her right hand to be touched. Reacts with disapproval to her image in the mirror – 'hits it'.
This is part of Annetta's description when she was moved from the Home for Children with Mental Disabilities to the Family type small group home. It's hard to compare it with the girl with the colorful tiara in her lush hair, who a few weeks ago visited a nearby store for the first time to pick out and purchase the right clothes she needed. Who would have thought that picking out socks at the neighborhood store could be such an event for a twenty year old. And for Annetta, it was an experience close to conquering Mount Everest. In fact, she overcomes obstacles every day, eager to make up for what she has missed. The next peak to conquer is the wheelchair, for her it was a chair where sitting she spent all her time. Today, she can already use it on her own and this makes it possible for her to go anywhere she likes.
Her next challenge was the blended food given to her by the staff. Here she has something to boast about too, as she is now eating on her own and her food is not being pureed anymore. We are delighted to learn that she now doesnt mind physicall contact and unlike before likes her image in the mirror – petting it with "ooh-ooh" sounds. Her latest accomplishment caught us off guard. We knew she already knew and was using more words, proving she wasn't just echoing what she heard, but also recognizing their meaning and using them correctly. So when we walked in and we heard her singing "Liliano mome" everyone's eyes teared up. Looking at Annetta I thought, what obstacles did I overcome today?
