My sister Karen had a shadow this afternoon when we gathered for birthday cake and ice cream. Several times when he called her "Grandma" she ignored him because she didn't realize he was talking to her.

Emil turned 20 today and has been telling us all week that this means he is no longer a teenager.

While the other students write exams next week, school finished for Emil yesterday and he brought home his report card:

"Work Habits—Emil's work supervisors are pleased with his progress. He requires very little supervision at his work station. At school, Emil shows self-motivation and adaptability. He works well with his peers and shines with positivity.

Behavioural—There has been tremendous growth in this area over the past year, which suggests steady progress in the area of maturation. Emil is open to discussion when rare situations require intervention.

General Comments—His ability to adapt to change and to increase his ability to attend to tasks are areas of improvement worthy of celebration."

Aside from the reading, cooking, and written language skills that Emil's modified program focuses on, he is still learning functional math skills as follows:

• Recognizing names and values of coins
• Understanding and comparing coin value
• Matching coins to simple price tags
• Independently using a vending machine
• Consistently recognizing coin values with decimal representation
• Reading a calendar
• Knowledge of date/day
• Identifying time (days, date, reading digital time)
• Reading an analog clock (on the hour/half hour)
• Using a clock to determine when to get ready for next class

He'll attend school again in the fall to carry on with these studies.