Let's Talk 2

It's been a bit since I last posted about Kelty's speech development. We were riding a plateau for what seemed like months and were feeling quite discouraged to put it mildly ... but about 4 weeks ago, after I decided to introduce him to more sign language ... he jumped UP off that plateau! We've also increased his appointments with his Speech Pathologist to twice per week.

Kelty still only has a few "words" in his vocabulary ... "me", "no", "baa", "bye", "bee" and "moo" ... but he is repeating a few sounds on command now. It's still VERY limited, only certain single syllables, but we are ecstatic! He is also using a sound for almost every "sign" he uses ... they seem to go hand-in-hand for him. We know this is going to be a long, slow road ... as he is not "speech delayed" ... it's actually a bit more complex than that. Put very generically, speech delay is when a child is following the typical path of speech development but at much slower rate and the cognitive skills "often" progress at the same rate. That is not the case with Kelty as there is a HUGE gap between Kelty's expressive skills (speech/language) and his cognitive skills ... but we'll talk about that a little later. At 27 months ... here' s what Kelty is able to share with us verbally:

me, milk, want = "me"
more = "meh" and "moh"
no = "nooh"
bye = "bye" (he sounds "southern" when he says bye ... it's so cute!)
paci = "pa"
up = "uh"
moo = "moo"
baa = "baa"
bee = "bee"
boat = "bow"
book = "buh"
butterfly = "beh"
ball = "baw"
blankie = "ba"
dad = "deh"
mom = "maw"
bird = "ob ob"
monkey = "ooh ooh"
dog and bark = "ahw, ahw"

He also uses specific sounds to communicate actions or other things he knows but can't say.

"ah" is used when he counts numbers with us or points out specific pictures we've asked him to show us. Also to show us things he's excited about, like if he sees a plane or a tractor, etc or if he's proud of himself for doing something. He uses it in places where other kids may use "this" or "here" or "that". Kelty also uses "ah" to announce himself ... when he wakes up from a nap or comes into a room.

"eh" and "eh?" are used when he he's uncertain of something, if he's asking for something or trying to do something. Also used if he wants to take us somewhere to show us something.

"me" for a lot of different things. He uses it a lot for "please", "want" and to show that he has accomplished or "done" something ... he'll point to a boat, plane, train or car and get excited and say "me!" ... communicating that he's been on or seen these things!

Kelty supplements a lot of his sounds with sign language without prompting. The signs he uses regularly are ...

more, please, thank-you, want, diaper, shoes, boat, tree, bird, milk, all done, car, butterfly, sorry, book, ball, hat, baby, coat

Kelty's non-verbal communication is fantastic . He acts out emotions or words that he cannot communicate verbally ... perhaps that's why he is so active ... he makes up for a lack of vocabulary with actions!

To be continued .....