Meet Daniel!

This cutie is Mr. Daniel! He has absolutely the sweetest smile and the most adorable laugh.  You will almost always find him with a belt or rope to twirl around and clink on surfaces, and frequently his service dog, Ginger, will be close behind.  He is pretty high-functioning autism.  His mom gives him instructions (ex: put that away, go get your iPad, put this shirt on, go potty, ect.) and he will do them. Sometimes he's a little stubborn and needs a some "encouragement," but he can get the job done. If he wants a snack or something he'll usually get it on his own and then maybe get help to open it.  If he wants something not in reach he uses an app on his iPad to express it.

The things that make Daniel most happy are campfires in the backyard, trips to Walmart, trips to Grandma's house, baths in a big plastic storage box, ice cream, Sonic's mozzarella sticks,  jumping on the trampoline (preferably without clothing on), and swimming at a friend's house.  When he's happy he likes to jump, giggle, and squeal, and one of the coolest things about Daniel is lots of times he's happy for no reason. He'll just walk into a room and start laughing and you can't help but laugh with him. It's contagious.

The two things that mainly get Daniel mad are not getting his way and when there are storms. The barometric pressure really messes with him, and his mom can always tell how the weather's going to be by the type of day Daniel has. Keeping him happy can be hard to do because sometimes a run to Walmart just isn't possible, and sometimes Sonic's out of mozzarella sticks. The hardest part about Daniel is when he gets mad. It's extremely difficult to make him content again, and when he's angry it usually involves screaming, hitting, and ramming his head into the floor or wall, among other things. It's not pleasant, and it can be exhausting.

Which brings me to another point: Daniel's parents are amazing! While I don't know his dad as well, his mom is Wonder Woman! She's such a giving person who will be there to help in any way possible at any given moment. She takes care of her family, friends, the house, and a bazillion other thing all at the same time. How she does all she does it I have no idea, but I pray many blessings upon her and her family! I'll talk more about them later, though. :)

Well, I hope that gives you a good picture of Mr. Daniel.  You will get to hear many stories about and lessons from him in the future.

God bless!

Shawna