2000

Steven is 15 years old now. He has got a water-bed. Because a water-bed doesn't make any squeaking sounds and one doesn't bounce on the mattress either, he sleeps more calmly and he isn't so tired in the morning any more. Besides that he doesn`t have so terribly cold feet. Steven cannot cover up by himself and doesn't leave his socks on at night. His diaper is often broken or sliped away (caused by the puberty). We always go to bed very late. Before that I change his diapers again, put him down correctly and cover him up again, give him to drink and hope that he also will fall asleep soon.

Further progress regarding eating/drinking, speaking, toilet and walking,

Eating/drinking? He still must be fed, however, leads the spoon or fork on his own. I poke things together with him, he then leads it to the mouth. Soup is a problem. However it is his favourite. For drinking from a cup I hold it together with him. Otherwise he drinks from cups with mouthpiece and valve so that nothing can drip out. If he succeeds in slipping the valve he is thievingly happy and distributes his juice pleasurably. If he recognizes me then he will quickly give the cup to me because he knows exactly, this weren't OK. Still everything must be crushed bite-sized, though he already chews now much better than earlier. He best of all likes raw fruit and vegetables, salad, nuts, crispbread and cake of all kinds. He drinks white coffee, black tea, hot chocolade and apple juice thinned down with water and a lot of bath water. The diaper then is full already after half an hour and needs to be changed.


Speaking? Maybe he never will?

Toilet? Still needs diapers. After every meal we put him on the toilet and he knows what to do there. For the large business I have the feeling he tries to hold it back till he is put on the toilet. Unfortunately, he cannot inform us about it, we must guess it or sometimes we can see it in his behavior and have to react in a flash. Since he now eats normally there also accumulates much in the intestines. For Steven going to stool was always unpleasant. In the past, he suffered much from constipation because he didn`t want to drink sufficiently. Though today he has no hard stool anymore he still has slow working intestines. 5 days and even longer, only a little always comes before we have real success, it then even blocks the toilet. We spend much time on the toilet so. In the bathtub he can relax and, if I don't pay attention, it happens there and we have a lot of work then


Walking? He still cannot walk by himself. He can hold his weight but not the balance. So he can stand if he has something to get a hold on but still moves by slipping on his bottom while he supports himself with both hands.

 

Otherwise Steven shows more interest in his environment now. He likes to be on the move all day and enjoys new impressions. Since November 2000 once a week Steven gets "Eingliederungshilfe" (intergrations help?). This means an attendant takes him to swim, train riding, visit public utilities, make strolls through the town and so on. He always likes this very much