Can you guess the correct meaning of these words? A vocab lesson from my moony son

Anthony makes great observations. His latest one made me smile. He looked up at the afternoon sky and said "I can see the moon - in the day! It is very bright, yes, it's very moony this afternoon."

Piratey phonics fun in the park

I can't really believe Jane is starting school. But there is no doubt she is ready for it. Perhaps having two older brothers has encouraged her but there is no doubt she is a girl that enjoys learning. When Jane and I were walking around a park this week, we played our stick letter game.  It all came about when one day she found an 'rrrrrrr stick letter'.  And then had fun looking for letters and sounds as an impromtu activity that you can try too.

Speech sounds developing with Toy Story

David has for a while now been using Makaton sign language with some speech sounds to communicate. We've been concerned that as well as autism, David may have some other speech difficulties because he has never really said more than one sound for a word. He'll say 'p' for 'up' or 'da' for down. He can ask for a yogurt 'gu' or an apple 'pul'. But this has rarely extended beyond this one syllable or easy syllable shapes.

Syllable shapes refer to the way that we put consonants and vowels together to make words. Without wanting to be too much like Countdown, speech therapists think of syllable shapes as putting consonants (sounds) and vowels (sounds)  together. So David's 'da' would be CV (One consonant + one vowel).  A CVC word would be his version of apple 'pul'. The more complicated the more advanced the shapes.

• Easiest Syllable Shapes VV like 'uh oh', CV like 'he', VC like 'odd', CVC and CVCV with the same consonants like 'dad' and 'mummy'
• Harder Syllable Shapes CVC and CVCV with different consonants as in 'dog' or 'belly' , and CVCVCV words like 'banana'
• Hardest Syllable Shapes Words with two or three consonants in a row like 'basket' or 'doctor' and longer words like 'pronunciation' (which even I have to think about saying)

David has today jumped into the 'Harder' syllable category.  We've been trying to help him with this and today he requested Toy Story by asking for 'Woo-dy' and signing the letter 'w'. That's CVCV with different consonants.

Jane, Davids younger sister is only three years old and already says banana. But this doesn't take away from his achievement. Whilst Jane reminds us of how far he is behind and has to go, we're still very pleased with his progress. This only gives another set of targets to help him expand more into the 'Harder' category.

Can you spot which categories your kiddie have conquered?

Links
Our blog - So happy my son has echolalia
Our blog - Why all forms of communication are awesome

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I'm so happy my son has echolalia

Nearly 75% of verbal autistic people display some kind of echolalia. It is 'echoing' or repeating or words, sounds, sounds made by someone else. It's there because the child doesn't understand what's being said but thinks a response is appropriate.  It was one of the key 'symptoms' that led to our eldest son's Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis, so why on earth am I pleased our second son is now showing signs of echolalia?

Never taught how to break the ice, in a different key

Is it possible that people with autism are still locked away?  I simply couldn't imagine being parted from my children or them being hidden from society because they happen to be autistic.  This is undoubtedly what used to happen as reported in The Daily Telegraph this Saturday by Kate Chisholm whilst reviewing 'In a Different Key' by John Donvan and Caren Zucker. 

As I read the review I was, as I have been many times, so relieved to be living in a time and country where my children are not taken to state-run institutions where they will be pumped full of various narcotics in an attempt to 'normalise' or placate their behaviour.

One of the keys parts of the review focused on the blame put on mothers for their children being autistic. According to the review, an article in Times Magazine in April 1948 ran an article that suggested these (my) 'frosted children' became so because their 'refrigerator  mothers' failed to bond with them.  I suspect it is simply that the mothers were never given the tools to break through the ice.

I remember having a feeling of disappointment after my first son had his first speech and language therapy session.  They hadn't done or said anything?  In fact all the therapist seemed to do was show me specific ways of playing with my darling boy.  As if I didn't spend all day sometimes trying to play with him.  She had pointed out a few things she was doing and gave notes to me on them afterwards.

Of course I realised that I was being given strategies to do therapy at home.  It was simple things like encouraging gap filling, encouraging requesting, encouraging eye contact and all just by changing the way I spoke and moved. Our second child needed more assistance in the form of my learning Makaton sign language and him using a picture exchange system to communicate. In both occasions, I was given the strategies and equipment to help my 'frosted children', indeed, I as given the tools to break the ice and help them access the world around them.

I'm so thankful that attitudes and 'healthcare' described were not frozen in time.  Speech and language therapy along with many other types of therapy such as occupational therapy is not simply dispensed at an institution or health centre.  Certainly for us, it's a way of expanding my sons horizons and is delivered on a daily basis with a mother's love and compassion.  And when there is a breakthrough, the results simply melt my heart.

Links
Our Blog - Why ALL forms of communication are awesome, it's not all about talking
Our Blog - Comments from Steve Silberman on Neurotribes

External
The Telegraph - In a Different Key