Ella is inching ahead in several areas. Since we have increased the time we restrict the use of her right hand, there has been a marked improvement in the use of her left. It is still much cruder and less accurate than the right, but, still is better than before. The movements used to be restricted to swatting through use mostly of her shoulder, now more of the movement is done from the elbow and she can direct her movements better. When placed with a collection of her noise making toys and her right hand restrained, she will make continuous noise through use of her left in manipulating the toys. It gives us hope that the use of her left can be even further refined. Maybe she will one day be able to grasp things with it, which will make a huge difference in her functioning. Another area of progress is in her standing. Ella is now more accepting of casual standing. That means just putting her down for a minute to do something. She will stand there, holding on to something for a few minutes before complaining. A huge step forward was done with her ability to go from sitting in a chair to standing. This still requires you to hold her hands but she will do all the work on cue. At the beginning of this exercise she will even be excited about it and will want to stand and then sit. Later the enthusiasm wanes. She has moved from her high chair when eating to a normal chair with a booster thingi. This makes her much more part of things when we sit down to eat. It also seems like her understanding has taken a big step forward. She responds to more things when we describe what is going to happen next, and she makes know what she feels about it. Her disposition remains a source of amazement for me. Ella is almost always in a good mood, up for doing things and accepting cheerfully.