"He seems to have some insight" - mom tells of gains in metacognition through IM

I received feedback from a mom of an 8 yr old this week. History: This little boy has above average timing, but still struggles with cognitive flexibility and anxiety.  He is now on session 12  of core conditioning - specific exercises targeting his specific issues.  Here's mom's notes (my comments in blue): 

"I have definitely seen improvements - he seems to have some insight into his difficulties. 
For example, a consistent problem with him is the fact that he argues with (dad) and I if we have to say "no" to something he really wants to do.  He is relentless and will bargain, rationalize, and even set ultimatums for us!  He does not let it drop. I think this falls in his difficulty "shifting gears" - once he has an idea/thought in his head, he can not let it drop if it doesn't go his way.  Anyway, for the first time a couple of weeks ago, after a long drawn out argument about him not being able to spend the night at his cousin's house, he was sent to his room (screaming and slamming doors).  After about 15 minutes to cool down, I went to his room and he was remorseful and apologized.  He said "I just can't help it.  My brain flickers when I don't get my way and I can't stop arguing".  That was the first time he had mentioned his "brain flickering"  Since then, when we get into an argument over something, he has mentioned several times that it is "his brain's fault" that he argues, not his! (This ability to think about his own thinking is called metacognition - a very common mental process to come on line with IM training, often after we've moved to the higher level loaded tasks as this young man has done.) 

Another example of where he has shown some insight into his difficulties happened one Sunday in mass.  We were sitting in front row and he was doing fine.  Half way through mass, we heard someone get sick. He asked if he could step outside to get some fresh air.  I was a little hesitant, but let him go on his own.  He came back in about 5 minutes and was fine.  I praised him for knowing that he needed to step out and for coming back so quickly! ( It helps to know that this child has an unrealistic fear of getting sick during mass - that is a huge reason why he's parents have sent him through IM a second time. Days when there would be Mass at school, he would become so anxious that he wouldn't want to go to school due to this unrealistic fear. He's anxiety was interfering with his quality of life. This is a huge gain.) 

Skiing was interesting.  He did NOT want to go at first.  By the end of the trip, he was doing better than his big brother! (This was his first time to go skiing in Colorado and unfortunately this boy got high altitude sickness the first day - again this fear of getting sick could have ruled the entire weekend but did not. Also, his brother is about 2 years older. )

At the beginning of the year he got his Silly Bands taken away from him b/c they were distracting him. (At parent teacher conferences this past week) His teacher said he was doing great in school.  She said reading and math are strong for him and he is very thoughtful.  She still keeps him seated at the front next to her desk, but she says he is needing much less physical prompting to get started on tasks.Thanks for all of your hard work and the research you've done with him.   He really enjoys IM and I know he is getting a lot out of it.