1 August 2021

Nathaniel is focusing more than ever. He is letting us know his likes, dislikes, desires, and more. He is still having issues with swallowing so we continue to work on that. One day, I asked him if he wanted to continue with the swallowing practice. He vocalized, “Ya” so we continued.

The instructions from the speech therapist are to have him swallow three times for each spoonful of food. I gave him a spoonful of food. He swallowed. I told him to swallow again. He shook his finger, “no” and then moved his hand in the well-understood, “come here” motion. Well, I gave him the next spoonful.

We wanted to take him to a social event after therapies. I asked him if he wanted to go. He shook his head, “no”. I asked if he wanted to go home. He shook his head, “yes”. I asked again with the same results. I even asked if he wanted to go to the park, which he did not. When we got home and we put him to bed, he went right to sleep. He knew what he wanted and needed.

Some friends are coming over next week. I asked if I should get pizza or barbeque. He was very clear that barbeque is the menu item.

It is rewarding to be able to communicate with him and get to know what he likes and wants.