Moe says the word "frog." It is one of the five words we identified in his IEP that he uses, if not consistently, at least somewhat regularly. He says it in the context of choosing the "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" song to sing at circle time at school.
Our goals for Moe this year were for him to use 100 words. It sounds like a lot now, considering we give him credit for about 5 words. But when you break that down to 10 words in 10 categories, and considering Jelly had 100 words and matching signs at around 18 months, it doesn't seem like such a stretch. Next year, we set the goal at 15 consistent words, 5 words in 3 categories.
As Moe approaches his fourth birthday, and the cumulative hours of therapy add up, I can't help but wonder if he'll ever talk. He'll tease us every so often with a word or sound that we never hear again. Just the other day he imitated my "splash, splash!" when he was in the tub. I hear a lot of stories about kids who started talking at four, five, or even six years old. So we'll keep working at it.
We do a lot with Moe. Outside of school, which is about 30 hours a week, he gets OT and music therapy, plus the PRT study. I wonder sometimes if any of it is working. Would we all be happier just relaxing at home? At music therapy, Moe spends a lot of time trying to get to instruments on the shelves, leave the room, or bang on the piano, rather than focus on the current activity. But he loves the frog song. I don't know if he loves the frogs at school because of music class, or vice versa. But either way, it shows me that he's making the connections.
So next year, we'll work on 15 words. I just hope "Baby Beluga" aren't two of them.
