The lovely wife and El Presidente's speech therapist have taken to teaching the boy sign language to go along with normal speech. The lovely wife has been really good about this. The big perk is that it gives him another way to communicate when he can't find his words, because we don't want to encourage his grunts and yells.
Since I'm away during sign language time, I'm not as up on the signs as they are. So he may be signing more than I realize. But last night I had him at home alone and realized for the first time how much he has picked up. Looking at a book, he pointed to a picture of fire and signed the word for "hot". When he was tired of something, he made a gesture like a baseball ump calling safe, which generically means "all done". And late in the evening, he was making a cradling and rocking gesture with his arms, which is sign for "baby", and was saying "nigh-nigh". He was saying that he was ready for bed by combining verbal communication and sign language.
His verbal skills are expanding as well. He is mimicking us so much that when we tell him "say hello", he'll look at us and repeat, "say hello". Before we know it, we'll finally figure out what is on his mind. Hopefully El Presidente won't sell our family secrets to the gossip rags.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
As a word nerd, I find this incredibly fascinating. Do you think he's learning to sign easier than he's learning standard English? Is there some reason it's more accessible to him? I want to hear more!
Now Colleen is really going to have to start watching her language around him. After she leaves, he's going to start flipping you the bird.
Victoria...it is a mixed bag. Both languages are accessible. He speaks both in with the same amount of blabber. Just like he has trouble with certain sounds when speaking, there are plenty of signs that he can't get right. The coordination of the fingers, in particular. Mostly though, he uses both at the same time, which makes it easier for us, as parents, to understand what he is trying to say.
Chris...we've already taught him to flip her off behind her back. Now he's trying to teach it to Jackson.
What exactly did I do to you guys to deserve this treatment?
Post a Comment