The Hailey Herald

The Hailey Herald

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Emerging Communication Skills

I'll preface this with, I have always been very proud of my little girl.  She is the strongest, most determined person I have ever met...and yes, she is only 17 months old.  I hate that everything is so much harder for her to learn than her brothers.  With that said, I do still get frustrated when we work and work and work on something and she doesn't quite get it.  I try not give up because I definitely do not want her to ever give up because it is difficult, but some days it is hard.  I'll admit, I've been jealous of the typical 17 month old children who are walking and even some running while my little girl just recently started her robot-walking with her walking toy.  While I am over the moon with this newest development, I am well aware that we have a long, long road to having an independent walker. 

I've had and still do have a lot of fears about Hailey and her future.  How could I not?  One of them has always been communication.  I fear not being able to communicate with my daughter....not knowing her hopes and dreams, feelings, fears. 

We recently made the decision to increase Hailey's private speech and physical therapy.  I'm hoping the extra PT will help improve Hailey's walking form and the speech therapy, obviously, will help push us closer to having a talker, too. 

Right now, we are in a small break in our therapies and we spent time visiting family.  Hailey always seems to have an explosion in an area of development.  I think sometimes just the change of scenery gives her mind a break and "it just happens".  I've been so happy with what she has been doing!  Hailey has been imitating people.  I was patting my nephew's back the other day on my lap.  My older nephew started patting the little guy's back also.  Hailey removed his hand so she could pat his back.  A few times, my older nephew would move Hailey's hand over, but she didn't like it and babbled a few words loudly to him and took over patting the baby.  Hailey has been fairly good (for her age) at being "gentle" with the baby. 

She has been motion for others to "feel" a book she is looking at.   Yesterday, my sister-in-law was eating watermelon.  Hailey pointed to the bowl and signed "more"...technically, she never had any to request more but she was communicated what she wanted and it is HUGE!  She has been picking up new signs much faster now (...mom needs to learn more so she can keep up!).  Hailey knows about 10 signs that she will do herself, but understands a few more than that.  I almost cry every time she learns a new sign.  She's so proud of herself and I'm so incredibly proud of her. 

But there is even more to Hailey's communication, she has started trying to say the word, too!  A lot of the words sound similar and it isn't always the entire word, but it is a start.  We have a lot of "m" and "b" words...she tries to say more, milk, mom (she does say this, but not always in context), bottle, baby, ball.  She has said "done" a couple of times...of course, the ever popular "dada".  When Dad was out of town, she would pick up phones, put them to her ear and say "dada" repeatedly.  She also grabs the iPad saying "dada".  We assume that is to talk to him on FaceTime.  Papaw is a favorite, but it is for mamaw and papaw.  Once over the weekend, she said "Taci".  I know is sounds crazy but I had witnesses!  We gave Hailey something on Saturday and asked her, "do you like that?".  Her response was "like that".  It was crystal clear and yes, I had witnesses for that one too.  We looked at one another in disbelief because it was that clear.  Now, we can't get them on command, but this is all a start!

Just as Hailey is taking walking slowly...we are making baby steps with communication, too.  Brings a smile to my face, makes my heart swell with pride and even more love, and makes me dream more about her future!

Hailey with Aunt Taci
These boys love babies!

She doesn't look quite so little anymore.

This look is TROUBLE!

15 comments:

  1. That's awesome - at 3 1/2, I'm still waiting for a "mama" :)

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  2. Way to go Hailey! I feel like we've been in such a rut with communication. It's always frustrating to work so hard and not see the results right away, but so much more worthwhile when we get these big bursts of development!!!

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    1. We were in a huge rut. I'm not sure what changed...change of scenery...just letting her play more (less structure)...another speech therapy session. I wish I could pinpoint it so we could do it again!

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  3. Amazing! She just keeps on trucking, doesn't she?

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    1. Yes...she seems to do something new when I feel like I'm maxed out with frustration!

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  4. She is making great progress & it is all about celebrating every step forward.

    I used to have a "reply" button on each comment on my blog but somehow don't anymore. Anyway, in response to your flashcard question. Usborne Books has some awesome flash cards that are really thick and sturdy. We are using the animal set right now.

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    1. Thanks! I really need to get started with flashcards!

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  5. Yay for Hailey! That's great to hear. Ben's just recently started babbling: buh, buh, buh, etc. It's music to my ears.

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    1. Yay, Ben! Yes, babbling is music to my ears, too!

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  6. Fantastic, Hailey!! Great news about the increase in therapy, too - I've always believed that you should throw as much therapy as possible at our kids to give them the right foundation. :-)

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    1. Thanks! I'm hoping that it helps and doesn't frustrate us!!

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  7. Thanks for your words, they mean a lot to me. I am glad that I have been able to start reading your daughter's blog! She is amazing, and just a few months older than my daughter, so I feel like I am being prepared for what is just ahead when I am reading. You might have talked about this in a post I haven't seen yet, but can you tell me more about Hailey's speech therapy? Is it through the state service? We had a meeting but the therapist basically said she wouldn't really start working with Elina until she started talking more...which really frustrated me. Don't worry if you don't have time to write back, I know how busy it can be.

    Love your blog, can't wait to read more.

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    1. Thanks! I saw your little one on your blog...what a cutie!! I will gladly share more about our speech therapy. Drop me an email at jmarthur2001@hotmail.com I tried searching for your email, but I didn't have any luck.

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  8. Hailey will get there - believe me! The best piece of advice we ever got about Abby was several days after she was born. We were stressing about where we were to go from here - about what the next step was. The doctor looked at us and said, "Abby will let us know what to do next." I've never forgotten that. She has ALWAYS done things on her own timetable, but she HAS done them. I remember that same fear of not being able to communicate with her, but you know what? There are times now when I have to ask her to stop talking (I always feel guilty about it, but sometimes her constant monologue just about drives me over the edge). Hailey has a house full of people that engage and talk with her - a wonderful blessing. Don't beat yourself up. Turn off the, "I"m not doing enough" and the "I'm not doing the right things" that may be playing in your head. I sometimes think that Abby just waited a bit longer so she could bank some extra sass. ;-)

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    1. I'm slowly getting there. We always focus so much on what Hailey needs to work on...what she needs to learn. I'm learning how to be more patient and learning how to let go. I have a hard time admitting that I can't control everything...I'm slightly type A ;-) I know she will get there. Don't worry...Hailey has lots of sass!

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