I guess our biggest update is speech related. We are into month three of therapy and have seen some progress. He will repeat many words after you say them and this is a huge growth from the 8 or so words he knew before starting.
Yet that is where our progress stops. The words are in his head, but he can't get them out of his mouth on his own. In the last 2 weeks or so his frustration level has grown greatly as he has begun to truly understand that what he is "saying" doesn't make sense to Mommy and Daddy. It breaks this Mommy's heart to know how little communication we truly have with him. I am trying to remember that it is one step at a time, and trust that God will give me the strength to patiently wait on him to progress in his own time.
The only things he can communicate to us without heavy prompting (us giving him the word to repeat) are milk, banana, cracker, shoe, car, train, Daddy, ouch, down, and stuck. Not a long list when you are 27 months old. Please notice for this Mommy's heart that my name is NOT among that list. Sniff, haha.
This may not seem like a big deal until you think about things like potty training, playing outside the home, others watching him, etc etc. Several of the things on his list are still not clear to the general public but are "special Aiden words" that we now understand even if not properly articulated.
This week in therapy Mrs. Courtney picked up on a lot of my concerns which was both encouraging, and discouraging. We formulated a plan of action and have decided to try flashcards. Simple things like his favorite activities and foods, pictures to help bridge the gap when he can't find the words to express what he needs or wants. Hopefully it won't be needed for long but we are to the point that a boost in progress is needed. This Momma is hoping it will be the encouragement we all need!
Onto other things...our little man is certainly full of adventure and daily keeps us on our toes, literally. He is a crazy mess, all boy, and I LOVE every minute of it. Though I will admit some days I hope little miss Emma doesn't take after her brothers crazy shenanigans. Double trouble and Mommy might just go nuts!
I am pretty sure that this is the last "baby" pic I am going to get. Sweetness!
He has developed the not so great habit of climbing up onto the kitchen table. Probably a good sign that our "construction zone" needs to find a new location.
You do know that sitting IN the toy box is best, right?!
We had our first cookie dunking, and let me tell you, it was cuteness!
He decided daddy made a good box head, and licking was fun!!!
He has started climbing under the bed, much better than out of it I guess!!!
Daddy helped him get his groove on, Steve Urkel style!!!
We bought his first crayola's! He wasn't that impressed :)
Just this morning we escaped stitches, yet again! Being the "helper" that he is he attempted to do the dishes by himself and broke a glass before I could get to him. The broken piece looked like ice and so he proceeded to cram it in his mouth. Loud no's and patient careful retrieval got the piece out of his clenched teeth without harm. It was only then that I saw the blood dripping down his fingers. The cuts didn't appear that deep but I could not get them to stop bleeding. Daddy had taken the car in for repairs so I called him to get advice, he couldn't hear me over the screaming so he thought I was panicked and came home. I really wasn't, but it was good to have him assess little man's wound. Twenty minutes of screaming and pressure application stopped the bleeding, until he started chewing on his finger! Daddy stopped that one quickly and we now sport Lightning McQueen band-aids which is much preferred to an E.R. visit for stitches! He is cracking me up waving his hand around loudly proclaiming "Kachow" which is Lightnings signature phrase. Hopefully the novelty will keep the band-aid on long enough for it to fully clot and we won't have any more issues. Sigh.
All in a days play my friends!
Glad you are seeing some progress! I know how much every step is cherished, while at the same time mourning the ones that haven't been made yet. Have you tried any sign language? Isaiah would NOT repeat words for a long time, but would pick up a sign after I showed it to him 2-3 times.
ReplyDeleteWe did sign language LONG ago and he didn't pick up any of it so we stopped (bad Mommy lol), he randomly started using signs on his own many months later. He obviously had picked it up but just wasn't using it so I regret we didn't use more. I have thought about pulling out our signing time video and seeing if the library has a few more so we can start up again. Several of his "words" can be prompted by one of us doing the sign even if he doesn't initiate it himself so that has helped. He knows milk, please, more, and up, plus one he made up himself for Momma which sadly means nothing more to him than the end of his "please sentence." So he doesn't use very many but up is a new one he has used since starting therapy so I think he would pick them up and it might help in conjunction with the flash cards to get the words from his head to his mouth. Thanks for the idea, hopefully I will remember to take action soon :)
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