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! 

SHE DID IT!

I was sitting in  a chair across the room from my treasure who was working with the OT and speech therapist that she sees in the school for therapy each week and  then it happened...SHE DID IT!

The OT and speech therapist have been introducing pictures that match all the objects that they have available for play during the last two sessions.  Generally for kiddos who are not able to speak, you use a picture exchange communication system to give them a voice and so that they understand communication is a back and forth exchange.  This is what we are working up to and this is the first session that they were requiring her to give them a picture to get something.  In this case, she was very interested in the OT spinning the sit and spin. Our little miss wanted her to keep spinning that thing around as fast as she could while she watched from a distance.  Jillian began communicating by throwing the OT's hand up.  (This is pretty typical for her to begin with..using gestures and we are thankful for that, but need her to be more specific.)  The OT modeled her giving her the picture and then spun the sit and spin for her. Jillian caught on to the picture exchange idea very quickly because well...she is a very bright girl. :)  They exchanged a few times and my Jillian was really digging that spinning sit and spin..

AND then it happened. 

She looked at the picture on the floor and then straight into the OT's eyes AND SHE SIGNED MORE!!!!!! 

She realized that she had "language" to communicate what she wanted and without any prompting from the therapists, all on her own as if a light bulb turned on, she signed more!  I said with a gasp..that's more.  She's signing more!!!  It was all I could do not to bawl right there in that chair. 

She has only been signing independently, without hand over hand, for a week.  A week ago today, I realized she was signing eat as we walked to the park pavilion to eat and well since then she has taken off at home with those two signs.  She is signing eat and more and trying to model others I show her. 

And now after just a week..She did it with a new person in a completely new place without any prompting..SHE SIGNED MORE TO COMMUNICATE with someone other than me!!

I was still tearing up over it when we got home and I told Daddy who was waiting lunch on us.  It is so incredible to be able to walk with this little girl in this life.  Seriously, she is amazing and watching God restore her is sooo beyond any words that I could type.  I am in awe of her.  I am in awe of God who chose me to be her momma and has allowed me to stay home with her each day so that I could witness it.

Here are two videos that I shot of her signing.  She is so darn cute.. Isn't she?