Day 11 - Communication

We have been told from the very beginning that children with Down Syndrome may have speech delays. When Connor was an infant he had some sounds including m, k, and a. He started babbling mama at 11 months, but then stopped saying that shortly after. Connor started babbling mama again a few weeks ago and did it consistently for a few days, but again that is slowing down and not very often.

Although Connor is not saying any words yet, he does understand everything we say and is able to follow one step commands. He started waving bye-bye on command at 9 months old. He blows rasberries and kisses better than any baby I have ever seen!

We introduced sign language to Connor when he was around a year old. He is now able to sign more, all done, eat, milk, go, open, book and is learning new ones every day.

At 19 months, we began to introdue picture exchange during Connor's Early Intervention Specialist Therapy sessions and he seemed to pick that up right away. The goal in the first step of this program is to choose between 2 pictures and hand over the 1 picture of the toy/object that he wants to use. I was amazed at how quickly he understood this.

Today we went to the Augmentative Communication Program at Children's Hospital which helps children and adults who are non-speaking or whose speach is impaired. We decided to try this program out to see what we could do to enhance Connor's communication and build upon the skills he has already learned. Connor did an amazing job while we were there and had a great time!  In the beginning, the speech therapists had Connor sit in a toddler chair with a tray on the front (like a small highchair but a larger tray surface for play). They started with 2 pictures with their corresponding toy and he had to choose which one he wanted to play with. They started with a bumble ball and bubbles. Connor chose the bubbles almost every time, but we know that truly is his favorite thing to do!  They then added in an elmo stuffed animal and he chose that one at times so he could cuddle and give hugs and kisses =)  The goal of these pictures is to teach Connor that the pictures represent and object and that he has the ability to choose which one he wants to use. The same can be done with food choices and many other routines throughout our day. I was so proud at how well he did.

They also recommended a recordable type device so he could learn turn taking during songs and other activities. It was a very basic way to give Connor a way to actively particpate in the songs and anticipate what comes next. Very cool. 

We discussed many useful apps for the ipad and Connor was able to play with the ipad a bit and did a great job using his amazing pointing fingers. 

Our longterm goal is to help Connor speak, but I am happy we have the opportunity to explore these other options to help him communicate along the way.  He really enjoys it which makes learning fun.

Even though Connor is not speaking at this point, it is amazing how well he is able to get his point across. He is always able to let us know what he wants or needs, and if I am not sure what he is asking for, Makayla always seems to know!  She has been great learning sign language and knows a lot more than I do already. She loves to teach Connor and has even started to trace his mouth to teach him how to make the "o" sound. Connor always lets us know if he is tired, or hungry, or if he wants to play or if he just wants a hug. I know that as he gets older and discovers new things it may be harder for him to let us know what he needs so hopefully working with the pictures will help enhance his communication.

We are just so proud of our little guy and he is so proud of himself when we say "good job Connor."