Payton has Down syndrome ... this we know. Payton has a speech delay, thanks to that extra chromosome. I feel like I have been beating my head against a brick wall in trying to get her to sign. Since she was about 10 months old or so, I have been signing "eat", "drink" and "more" with her on a fairly regular basis. Although she has not signed back to me, I know she understands what I am signing to her.
The sign for "more" is to touch the tips of your fingers together (bad explanation, I know). A lot of kids will clap as their way of signing "more" and while Payton has clapped during mealtime, I have never been able to really associate it with her saying she wants "more". Well, today I was able to associate it. I asked her verbally if she wanted more while I signed it and I kept asking her, trying to get her to sign. SHE DID IT!!! Several times, on que! OMG I kissed her about a thousand times! It is such a great feeling to have your child communicate back with you, especially when you have worked so hard to get there.
Aside from signing, Payton has some words! Here is a list of the words she says (some of them perhaps only her father and I understand) and correctly associates:
Mama
Dada
Hi (this is her favorite word right now)
Bye-bye
Doggy
Ball
All done
I think that is it (that we can interpret, at least), but it is a fabulous list if I must say so myself! Her development has been phenomonal and I'm praying that her communication continues to flourish!
good job payton on signing and words!!! mayson will sign more but not at the right time all the time. she says MMMM with it too so i think she is trying to say more too. she will not sign anything else though even though we try!! stubborn!!
ReplyDeleteI love when she says "hi"! next words should be "auntie shay". lol
ReplyDelete