I did something today I'm actually proud of.
By The Horse
@TheHorse (205553)
Walnut Creek, California
December 2, 2016 5:18pm CST
I'll be working Fridays in the little kid classroom at my friend's preschool until the end of the school year. This is the Pampers set, aged 2- through 3 1/2-years-old.
Today, I met a little boy who does not speak, and does not even nod yes or no, though he seems to understand directions. I don't think he's autistic: he makes eye contact, is very affectionate, and does not seem "in his own world." He just does not produce language.
I couldn't resist. I joined him on the floor after lunch as we was making Little Lego train cars. I verbalized everything I was doing. "I am putting another square Lego on top to make a taller train car," etc. He smiled a few times. Finally, after about five minutes, I took the plunge: "Would you like me to put my taller train car next to your blue train car?" He nodded yes!
I can tell I'm going to be drawn to this kid, and determined to help him with his expressive language development. I won't force it on him. It will be at his own pace. But I look forward to helping him.
The photo is on a pre-linguistic friend of mine from a previous job after he power-crawled to by office and started climbing up my leg. Being a horse helps me understand nonverbal communication.
24 people like this
25 responses
@Happy2BeMe (99399)
• Canada
3 Dec 16
The world needs more people like you. How rewarding for you.
4 people like this
@JudyEv (325584)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Dec 16
What a cute little boy. And good luck with your present challenge. I was a governess for a family for a few months and the youngest there was nearly three and didn't speak. However he didn't really need to as we all knew exactly what he did or didn't want. He grew up perfectly well with no speech problems at all.
4 people like this
@celticeagle (158876)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Dec 16
Well, the horse did it again! Make a friend of the rug rat family.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (158876)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Dec 16
@TheHorse .....That's a good thing.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (205553)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Dec 16
@celticeagle Thank goodness I'm not particularly bothered by snot and random farts. Comes from being a horse, I think.
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (48417)
• Mojave, California
2 Dec 16
That is good he found someone he can connect to. I personally think he will be fine and think we need less talkers in this world. 
3 people like this
@TheHorse (205553)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Dec 16
The lil guy in this photo was only about 10 mos old when I took it. He and I were buddies. The kid I'm working with now is something like 2-1/2. I'll check on his exact age next week. I'll update when I've worked with him some more.
3 people like this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
2 Dec 16
My niece has been diagnosed with zellwigers syndrome. She has recently learned some sign language. As a visual and hearing impaired child it's wonderful to see her begin to communicate.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (205553)
• Walnut Creek, California
4 Dec 16
@Morleyhunt It said that most children only live to be one, and that there's no known cure. It sounds like the myelin sheaths that surrounds axons are affected, making it hard for nerve cells to "fire." I hope they can discover a cure--something that will "trick" myelin sheaths into forming normally.
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
3 Dec 16
@TheHorse it will break your heart. There are only 15 children in all of Canada that are affected by this syndrome. She is fortunate that she is lower on the spectrum, or she would already be gone. They diagnosis was finally made just a few weeks ago...now they are finding the baseline so they can monitor the degeneration as it occurs.
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (73326)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
3 Dec 16
That is an adorable kid. In my opinion the boy you are starting to work with is probably a genius who is learning all he can silently. Then the first thing he will say will so astound you that you won't know what to say. Later on he'll probably become another Einstein. This is from an article on Einstein.
Einstein was slow to talk. Some say he didn’t start speaking until age four. Stanford economist Dr. Thomas Sowell even coined the controversial term “Einstein Syndrome“ to describe exceptionally bright people whose speech is delayed.
2 people like this
@happyhaha (285)
• Fuzhou, China
3 Dec 16
Good job. Every kid is a angel in the world. So we don’t have any reason to give up one of them.
2 people like this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
3 Dec 16
How exciting for you, I do hope you help him along. My mom always said kids learn at their own pace. Some walk sooner than others and some talk sooner than others.
2 people like this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
3 Dec 16
Little boy sounds like a little girl that I knew ages ago. She would not talk to anyone at all. She is very intelligent too. So one day when we were in a Shop she came out with "Oh my God" I really wanted to laugh because it was all she would say after that for a long time. Of course now she talks all day. Good luck with the job and the kiddies that will be fun.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43421)
• Denver, Colorado
3 Dec 16
That's pretty cool that you got a response out of him.
1 person likes this
