When we got Binker into speech therapy, he quickly picked up on requesting items. At first, it was very simple two-word phrases, such as "Milk please", or "More please". Those eventually extended into longer phrases, like, "I want milk please", etc. Around that time, Binker learned to express when he liked something. For example, on Easter, (which also happened to be his third birthday), he ate quite a bit of candy soon after waking up and finding his Easter basket, and he said, "I like Easter! I like birthday!" and this past fall, we took a family trip to Great Wolf Lodge, and after only a couple hours there, Binker was all, "I like swimming! I like slides! I like Great Wolf Lodge!"
His speech somewhat plateaued at this point; excelling at requesting things and letting us know when he liked something, but not much more. Every once in awhile he would say something, simply as commentary, like when I would be feeding the baby, he might come over and say, "Baby is drinking a bottle!", and of course, the ever popular, "The light is on!"
In just the past couple of months though, I have seen some expansion in his speech skills. Where he used to positively melt down when he got frustrated or upset, now he consistently will say "Help me please!", and more and more often, he will even say what is wrong, or what it is he wants.
A new development in his language recently has been in his ability to ask questions and answer them. He never used to answer questions, I mean, it just didn't happen. And then, ever so slowly, he started. I'd still say that the majority of the time, you won't get an answer, but the fact that he can and occasionally does answer, is HUGE. A few nights ago I posted on Facebook an interaction I had with him. Binker came into the room holding a toy train, and I asked, "What did you find", (totally not expecting an answer), and he responded, "I found a train!"
Parents of typically-developed children will probably read over that interaction without a second thought, but for us - for Binker - it was an enormous accomplishment for several reasons. First of all, he was aware of me, and that I was talking to him. Then there is the fact that he answered me, and by turning my question into an response clearly shows that he understood what I was asking him. Also, he used "I" instead of saying his first name, which is something we have been really working on with him, trying to get him to consistently say I or me, versus his name. And lastly, he used a past tense verb when he said "found". I don't think I have ever heard him use past tense before that evening. For months I have been trying to get him to be able to tell me about past events, such as what he does at preschool. Seeing him use past tense, shows me that, through baby steps, he can master the past tense, and one day he will be able to talk to me about things he has done.
Just as exciting as answering questions, is the fact that Binker has started purposefully asking questions too. The other day, Binker was playing with a small basket. At one point I took it away from him, but I didn't know he had put some orange slices in it. He began crying, "Oranges! Oranges!" I had no idea what he was talking about, and then he said, "What happened to the oranges?" He literally stopped me in my tracks. His question was so clear, and purposeful, it took me a few seconds to respond to him, it truly caught me off guard - in a good way!
Also, Binker has really been into playing with these remote-control toys he got for Christmas from my in-laws, one is a school bus and one is a train, they are adorable toys, and he has so much fun with them. He is really good at misplacing his things though, and he usually can't remember where the remote controls for the toys are. One morning he was looking for them, and he said, "Where is button?" At first I didn't know what he was talking about, but once I figured it out, I told him they were called remotes. The next day, he lost one of them again, and he came to me and said, "Where did remote go?"
So awesome.
This morning, out of the blue, Binker began doing something else, that, to anyone else probably wouldn't even register on their radar: he started addressing me by "Mommy". He has pointed to me before, and said "Mommy", acknowledging that he knows who I am, and he has used the word mommy when talking about me, but he never says, "Hi mommy", or uses mommy when talking to me.
I cannot tell you how many times I have physically ached, wishing he would call me mommy.
And then, it happened. I had put him in the bathroom to go potty, and went to check on the baby, when I heard, "Mommy! Mommy, where are you?" For a second I was totally caught off guard.
When you go nearly four years with your child never addressing you as mommy, it is a real shock when it just suddenly happens. And then it happened again. And again! I kept trying to go into the bathroom to do my hair, but each time, Binker would call for me, "Mommy! Mommy!" And then he would come in, grab me by the hand and take me out to the family room with him. One time he even said, "Sit in chair"(!). He was watching The Wiggles, and I think he was wanting me to watch it with him. So sweet!
Lately I feel like it's been a bit of a tug of war game. He will have moments where he gets very frustrated, and won't communicate well, and then I get frustrated and just want to go eat a box of Oreos.
But, he has also been having these awesome, awesome moments - asking questions, answering questions, and then, calling me mommy. I'm still swooning over that fact. I hope that as the weeks go on, we will have more of these groundbreaking moments for him, and less of the emotional eating-inducing ones.
It's much better for my waistline.
