Communication
I always imagined my child's first words to be, well, words! I pictured this tiny little person, speaking this perfectly understandable word in a squeaky little voice, and knowing for sure that it was his first word. Then I started to learn a little bit about Down Syndrome, and realized that spoken language might not come as I had imagined it. So, like many parents of children with Down Syndrome, we learned sign language and started using it in our daily lives. We also used spoken language, and incorporated pictures into our routines as he got older. We were okay with any form of communication that he wanted to use, as long as he was able to tell us his needs and wants.
By Ty's first birthday, he could babble "dada" and "mama", and other sounds while he was talking. He was not using any sign language, however, and didn't seem to be making much progress with the other forms of communication either. The typical language progression for children with Down Syndrome was always in the back of my mind though, so I wasn't concerned, and knew it would come someday.
A few months later, Ty was chasing a ball around his playroom with a hockey stick, like he did most days! As he crawled after the ball, he screamed "ba! ba! ba!" over and over. Watching him, it began to dawn on me that maybe his "ba" sounds were actually him yelling "ball". It was strange to me though...it didn't completely sound like the word "ball", and I was not expecting any spoken words for quite some time. So I did an experiment...well, several. I asked, "Where's the ball?" and Ty happily turned and chased it screaming "ba!" again. I held the ball in front of him and asked what it was. I put other balls in front of him, to see what he would do. And you know what? He said "ba" every time. It wasn't how I imagined it to sound, or when I expected it to happen, but Ty's very first "real" word was "ball"!
Turns out, this first word was the gateway to a whole new world of communication in our house. The word "ball" was quickly followed by "book", "more", "milk"...in both spoken and sign language. Once we were tuned in to Ty's method of communication, we started to notice it all the time. In a matter of a couple of weeks, I generated a list of 15 spoken words and 8 signs that he used consistently. Honestly, I think he had been using these words for a while, but since we weren't expecting him to speak, and weren't paying attention to every little sound he made, we probably overlooked them. Now, Ty can tell us what he wants, and we understand him. Just today, he slid my cell phone underneath a storage closet door. When I walked into the room he yelled, "Mama!", and then signed "phone", while reaching under the door. In a matter of 3 seconds, my 19 month old son told me something important. Now that, I think is amazing.
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| Saying the word "kids" ("bids") on his favorite page in his favorite book! |
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| Saying "push" as he completely rearranges the icons on my phone! |
Being a parent to a boy with Down Syndrome, I have learned that communication comes in many forms. I now slow down to notice his attempts at speaking or signing, and in turn, can understand what he is trying to say 90% of the time. It's a daily reminder to pay attention to the small details, as sometimes they are the most important.
Yeah babies have their own methods of communication and they're all different! I remember my oldest learning to talk and her first words were "boo, beh, bah, bay" (book, bear, ball, baby) but if we really tuned in we could tell what she was saying. Reagan signs untradionally like crazy and makes us very aware of what she wants. :)
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