Using His Words

Seymour's folks were here for the weekend, to attend the big fundraiser for Leo's school, and to watch Iz play soccer. The kids all loved having their grandparents on site, Leo especially -- he greeted them with squeals and giggles, and answered most of their questions (which he is not motivated to do with everyone, trust me). And after they left, he used more language and had the longest conversation he has ever had with us, by far. We need to convince the grandparents to come more often! Here's our exchange:

Leo: "Want to get in the car!"

Us: "Why do you want to get in the car?"

Leo: "Want to go to the airport."

Us: "Why do you want to go to the airport, Leo?"

Leo: "Want to get on an airplane, go to Grammie & Vavo's house."

Us: "Which house do you want to go to? The house with the boat or the house with the pool?"

Leo: "The house with the boat!"

I talked him into going to get some horchata instead, but that's some damn fine language. The kind of language I'm working with his teacher and SLP to try to help him develop, and scaffold, through visual supports and typing.

The kind of language that we'll definitely be celebrating on Wednesday, when we meet for his annual IEP and reformulate and perfect his goals as a well-oiled parent/teacher/SLP/OT team. Cross your fingers that the school district does not have any surprises for Leo, or for us.