Conversation with a 4 year old at the park

January 21, 2009

My 5yr 7mo ds told me hw could climb the ladder to get to the

platform on the playground. (It's a metal four rung ladder you

climb.)

A little girl came up and told me she could climb it too and she was

4 years old!

When she climbed up my son tried to tell her he fell off a bunkbed

ladder when he was 3 but he doesn't fall anymore.

I don't think she understood him but at least she didn't make fun of

him or ignore him or decide he's a baby as has happened before.

I am happy! My son heard her talking to me and he added to the

conversation when she was in front of him! I don't think he made

good eye contact while he was talking but she didn't either so it may

be age apropriate.

Usually my son does not talk to other children or else he listens to

them talk or to me talking.

Wow!

P.S. My son will get to go to an AAC clinic in March and April

through our ocal university. I am wondering if a small device can

help him communicate with others? He is easier to understand yet he

is still hard to understand if you are not interested in

understanding what he is trying to say (meaning I try hard to

understand him but not strangers or other children).

January 21, 2009

Do you do oral motor therapy? Tongue lifts, up to the roof, down, up to the

roof, down. Stuff like that?

Mark's tongue used to be 'stuck' the the bottom of his mouth too and he used his

jaw in this weird way to speak. We got some bite blocks from TalkTools and did

execises with his tongue. You're looking for jaw/tongue disassocation.

Oral Motor therapy can CHANGE your child's ability to articulate! Once they get

that motor planning better with their tongue, their speech is so much better.

You can buy books at Super Duper with Oral Motor exercises in them. Do any

exercises 3 times a day every day for fast results.

Now, we still have low tone and speech is still not perfect but not many people

really 'notice' it either though to me it sticks out like a sore thumb. This is

due to oral motor exercises that we developed for Mark.

Take care and Congrats to your son! He can DO this! Yes he can! You don't

really want him speaking via a machine if their is any possible way that you can

get that face firmed up and that tongue working like it should.

Janice

[ ] Conversation with a 4 year old at the park