Speaking of Celebrations.....

We've been having the very real, nagging internal dialogue for a while now --which we were just starting to verbalize to one another out loud....the scary (to us) kind....the "what if he never speaks" kind.  We can look around, and see that Parker's peers, with and without Down Syndrome, are all speaking in some way.  We try our best not to compare, but at some point, other kids become a baseline for what you need to focus on, and I think that is okay.

We've really been struggling with comprehension and speaking for a while now.  It is our most major stressor on this journey, if I'm really honest with myself.   To us, beyond the physical needs (eating, hearing, vision, etc.), speaking and reading are the keys to independence for Parker.  It took us over a year to teach Parker the sign for "more."  We quickly learned that if we don't intensely repeat signs, he stops using them.  Thankfully, the last 8 months or so, Parker's sign language has been increasing in frequency and he is now mastering signs in about a week, again as long as they are practiced often.

Our next step was Parker initiating the signs, instead just responding to our prompts.  I was over the moon when Parker first asked to "eat" without me asking him.  This is important for so many reasons, but one of the most prominent is that Parker is learning to show his opinion, which he doesn't always do.  We are also working on two-sign combinations- like "more please" or "more cracker."  We are learning the merits of the reward system very quickly with this.  Sign language has been life saving for us, and Parker is getting the message that communicating is important (or in toddler terms, it gets you what you want).

In the last few weeks, in his new (thriving) school environment, Parker has started mimicking other kids and adults, and exploring sounds.  Matt and I are always asking him if he is "ready to go," or saying "let's go," as part of our transition routines.  This lead to him repeating the word "go" one day last...which was astonishing to hear in his little voice, clear as day.  Over the last week or so, he started to be more purposeful-- though he is still mainly doing it when prompted.

It is no secret that Parker loves his doggy, Chase-- which is why, naturally, his next word was his version of Chase.  Seeing him standing in the crib in the morning, pointing to the dog, and saying "Chase!" is heart-warming.

Then, this week, we started saying "Ready Go!" during speech before going down the slide or swinging at the clinic.  Success!  I literally cried on my way home from his session, and sent the video of Parker talking to our families.

We are SO proud of this boy and everything he teaches us.