One of the main reasons we started our little guys on therapy was their lack of communication. At two and a half, you would generally expect a lot more than what they do. One of the strategies that we're trying is teaching basic signs while we continue working on the verbal side.
Connor, my little sponge who doesn't need the signs but is just dying for something to learn, has picked up nearly all of them with amazing ease. He already knows about 10 to 15 words pretty consistently, and is very cute to watch. Little ham that he is, he loves the attention and the praise when he does it right. Last night, Josh got him to sign "More milk, please!" by simply showing it to him, slowly and in order, first.
Sawyer has been extremely reluctant with the signs. He doesn't use any consistently or correctly, though he's started to do a sign that looks very much like "more" after he claps (it's a similar motion and the way Xander initially began that sign, too). But he has been communicating more - simply pulling and pushing and leading me to what he wants, and even usually placing my hand on the item he wants, especially if I offer choices. So, it's at least moving forward, if not quite in the direction we would have hoped. Perhaps it will come in time.
Xander has not been fond of therapy in general (he's slightly stubborn, and I can't imagine who he gets that from), but has finally mastered one sign - "more" - which has become his universal sign for everything. He knows it makes Mommy happy, so he uses it at will. Mommy has candy and he wants some. "More," he signs. Mommy has chips and he wants some. "More," he signs. Brother has a toy and he wants it. "More." His toys are cooperating and he wants Mommy to fix it. "More." Time to go night-night and Mommy's about to leave. "More." And, you get the idea. Smart little boy, he knows how to get Mommy.
And, I think he's even smarter than he lets on. The other day our new word was "milk," and we'd been working on it most of the day. We use a modeling technique in the beginning, where you do it hand over hand (with your hand on top of his) to help "see" the sign. He kept refusing to do it when he wanted milk, using the universal "more" instead. I eventually gave in, knowing it's a work in progress and it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of praise on the mere attempts to communicate. I walked away to do something else. When I came back a few minutes later to get Connor some milk, Xander, my little sneak, was hiding in the hallway to the office. He was drinking his milk in one hand and standing there with his other hand in the exact position of the "milk" sign, which he quickly dropped when he spotted me.
It could have been a coincidence, I guess. But knowing my little man, his mischievous personality, I really don't think so. Why am I imagining that sly grin I know so well showed up on his face the minute I turned back around? Or that he actually knows so much more than he's willing to "say" right now?
