Sunday, May 21, 2006

Talk!Talk!Talk!

Cobalt is now over 18 months old and still not talking. Some days its a bit disturbing and disheartening; others, its just fine.
Yesterday was one of those days where I just wish he could talk. Mom was away at a retreat for the LEAP Board of Directors and I had Cobalt all to myself. Although he can communicate quite well, it would have been nice if he could actually tell me what he wants with WORDS! Instead, he would do things like run to the refrigerator, or point to the fruit basket, or scream his lungs out. After eating Mac 'n' Cheese for lunch, I thought he'd be ready for a nap. But after he asked to get out of his chair, he ran to the front door as if to say "take me to the playground". BTW, at the playground, the little guy climbed the ladder for the very first time!
What got me thinking about this was an article I heard on the radio on the way home from work on Friday. It was about how kids, er, infants, are being taught sign language between 7 and 12 months. I'd heard of this before, but have never thought much of it. The people running the program claim that children develop their vocabulary sooner and read earlier as a result of learning ASL. But then they had some parent commenting on how they now know when the kid wants milk because he makes the motion of milking a teet with his hands, and I thought "shit, Cobalt's been doing that since before he was one, what the fuck's the difference?"
To some extend, communication is communication no matter what form it takes. As long as we know what he wants, it just doesn't make a difference whether he's communicating in english, spanish, sign, german or whatever. He's still communicating, and that's what matters.

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