Progress!

I often have people ask me how Roman is coming along. Obviously, the goal is a big enough vocabulary to communicate his wants and needs. He really wants to talk, but you can tell somehow, between his brain and his mouth, words get lost. So, his teachers have been working with us on alternative communication.

He's been using a PECS (picture exchange communication system) book lately. There are pictures of things he likes to do, like watch TV, play "I'm gonna get you" (chasing him down the hall to tickle him), and pictures of his favorite toys. There's also pictures of his favorite foods like bananas, apples, and grapes. He's been doing so well with it and we're all impressed with his level of communication with the book.

He has other ways to communicate as well. Recently, we've taught him to grab the hand of someone he wants to help him with something. For example, if I put something out of his reach, like a snack, the goal is to get him to lead me to it to tell me to get it down for him. He learned this after being shown one time! That's amazing!

Words are still few and far between. He likes to say "I did it!" when he turns on a light switch. It's not every time, but it's so exciting when he does it. Of course, he always "talks" about his dad. It's mostly babbling and the only word I can make out is "Dad". Roman misses him so much during the day. He's also still talking about the dogs and I'm trying to get him to say "cat" now since he really loves all the animals.

So, that's my Roman update. I know that I write a lot about the medical and dietary interventions, but I don't get around to bragging about my boy nearly enough.