She's Getting It

She is getting motor modeling!  She's getting it!  This is huge for a million reasons..
1. She is connecting more to the world that she used to have to shut out in order to survive in.
2. She is seeing people as people that she can watch, learn from, and interact with.
3. This is the number one way that infants learn..by watching and modeling.  Our sweet one missed that.  She needs to get it and if she can't go back and pick up those things..it is going to be nearly impossible for her to learn high level thinking.

SO.....
How do I know that she is learning this important skill?

I am trying to model new signs for her to help her communicate more specifically for things that she is very motivated to get.  One of those new signs is on.  She loves our sensory motor play in the bathroom sink each morning.  She loves sloshing, splashing, the bubbles, the toys, and especially the water.  She plays with the sink full then pushes the drain and watches the water run down.  Then she communicates to me that she wants more water.  Up until recently, she has used her hand to push mine toward the faucet.  I wanted her communication to be more specific so I wanted to make her sign for it.  Water is a hard sign to make.  I knew it wouldn't be one that she could do easily so I started to model on.  I say in the morning as she is gesturing-on..you want the water on.  Making the sign each time.  I then use hand over hand to make her sign it.  Well, she has been trying to do whatever sign I show her without my doing hand over hand!  Motor modeling..it's coming!

THEN..

last night we were playing in the water in the backyard.  (Yes she is naked in her diaper again.  This truly is our life and I love it!)  I have not modeled the water on routine with the water in the backyard.  (I don't know why.  I just haven't.)  She finished in the sandbox and walked me over to the water bins and table.  She took me by the hand to the hose and then she did it!  I didn't give her any language prompts at all.  In fact, it caught me completely off guard and I was ecstatic with joy when it happened.  She picked up the hose handing it to me, looked me in the eye, and signed on.  She used her language spontaneously to sign on in a situation that was appropriate! I wish I could have it on video, but it was just she and I in the backyard.  I bet the neighbors heard me screaming. I was so excited!

I did set up the situation again and have daddy get the video camera so I could capture it. 

Here she is discovering that I had dumped her water out. (Sneaky momma trying to make her communicate!)  She goes to the table, presses her hands down, and doesn't feel the water.  Look at her shake her little head no.  SOOOO cute!

Then she comes to me to say on...water on..

Now she wants her bins filled up too...

Apparently, I'm going to need to learn some more sign language.  It seems to this momma, who only dabbled in speech and language development in the classroom and as a mom to Emily who had speech and language delays, that her oral motor deficiencies are really keeping her from producing speech sounds consistently.  I think she has language in her brain..she just can't seem to get it from her brain to the muscles in her mouth that produce the sounds.  This is a big hurdle to overcome and probably the number one reason she isn't talking yet, but she wants to communicate.  I am confident that even if her speech sounds are never intelligible, she will find some augmentative means to talk with us.  Until then, studying sign so I can empower her even more.

Happy Monday!