Counting Our Blessings.

[IWMP]

Ok, thanks. My kids are grown. Could you please just explain what you think the red sign, current or otherwise, universally means to 3 and 4 year olds in the US?

Sure! But recall I didn't discuss what the red sign means. It's what the sign says. It says this:



What it means might differ for each child based on their experience.

A quick example of meaning defined by early experiences. What does "bank" mean? To the young child it might mean lollipops or treats for the dog at the drive through.

Adults read environmental print as well. Think about the international road signs we see or those for restrooms around the world. There are symbols on those for us to read regardless of our ability to speak other languages. Gives us the ability to navigate, if you will, whether we know the language or not.

Just so you know. I one hundred percent understood the point you were making even though I didn't recognise the sign. Children recognise and are able to logos signs much faster than words.

[Jersey Girl]

You guys! I just got so incredibly jazzed! We've talked about spectrum disorders on this thread. Please watch THIS! Zoey is a 5 year old child with autism who has been nonverbal. I think it's possible that she had selective mutism but in any case she was diagnosed as nonverbal and remains largely nonverbal.

LISTEN to this!!! Run time is 1 minute and 44 seconds.

Mom who allowed 5-year-old to play with her phone captures priceless moment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv7npEKRrz4

You could do this with any child, typical or atypical. In the past I've handed over my digital camera that I used for photographic documentation to young children in the classroom but of course it didn't have a mic. This is SO exciting and one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

[IWMP]

You guys! I just got so incredibly jazzed! We've talked about spectrum disorders on this thread. Please watch THIS! Zoey is a 5 year old child with autism who has been nonverbal. I think it's possible that she had selective mutism but in any case she was diagnosed as nonverbal and remains largely nonverbal.

LISTEN to this!!! Run time is 1 minute and 44 seconds.

Mom who allowed 5-year-old to play with her phone captures priceless moment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv7npEKRrz4

You could do this with any child, typical or atypical. In the past I've handed over my digital camera that I used for photographic documentation to young children in the classroom but of course it didn't have a mic. This is SO exciting and one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

This should have come with a tears warning. So beautiful.
Thanks for sharing.

[Jersey Girl]

You guys! I just got so incredibly jazzed! We've talked about spectrum disorders on this thread. Please watch THIS! Zoey is a 5 year old child with autism who has been nonverbal. I think it's possible that she had selective mutism but in any case she was diagnosed as nonverbal and remains largely nonverbal.

LISTEN to this!!! Run time is 1 minute and 44 seconds.

Mom who allowed 5-year-old to play with her phone captures priceless moment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv7npEKRrz4

You could do this with any child, typical or atypical. In the past I've handed over my digital camera that I used for photographic documentation to young children in the classroom but of course it didn't have a mic. This is SO exciting and one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

This should have come with a tears warning. So beautiful.
Thanks for sharing.

It was incredible wasn't it? I loved it so much! Imagine Mom when she got the phone back and listened to the video that Zoey made. Just IMAGINE that!!! Sorry I didn't give a warning! <3

[IWMP]

This should have come with a tears warning. So beautiful.
Thanks for sharing.

It was incredible wasn't it? I loved it so much! Imagine Mom when she got the phone back and listened to the video that Zoey made. Just IMAGINE that!!! Sorry I didn't give a warning! <3

I was joking about the warning. It was amazing. She must have been so overjoyed.

Although my kid isn't non verbal she very rarely responds when you say good night or I love you. I once explained to her when someone says good night people tend to say good night back but she wasn't bothered but once or twice she has said I love you back and it is like aww. She has learned to say hi to friends that say hi to her but for a very long time she ignored them or growled so progress is being made. Well progress to be more socially appropriate I guess.

But that video, it's just the sweetest video.

[Dr. Shades]

Mom who allowed 5-year-old to play with her phone captures priceless moment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv7npEKRrz4

I wonder why she can say it to a phone but can't say it to her mother directly.

[Jersey Girl]

Mom who allowed 5-year-old to play with her phone captures priceless moment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv7npEKRrz4

I wonder why she can say it to a phone but can't say it to her mother directly.

Well, in my coursework I only took one class in the Exceptional Child. What we'd commonly call special needs. That covered gifted children through those profoundly impacted by autism and various conditions in between such as medical needs. I have experience working with young children with special needs of various types in varying degrees. Did have one child with selective mutism (which I mentioned above because it kind of fits) who never spoke in class, never heard his voice. I set up a situation where I could hear him outside the building chattering away to Mom after class. What an eye opener! Also a child with apraxia of speech and others whom I would say were Aspergers and apparently was right as they were diagnosed in elementary school.

I would say that I'm trained to identify typical and atypical development. Make observation, draw conclusions, and advise parents when an evaluation might be appropriate which I am able to do in a very positive way. I speak in present tense because adults still ask me for advice from time to time be it learning approaches or behavioral.

So let me try to explain why I think she couldn't speak to her mother directly. Just briefly. We often see children who have autism who have sensory processing disorders. Things such as being averse to certain food textures, sensitivity to sound, tactile sensitivities--won't touch sticky things, can't stand the tags inside their clothing, that sort of thing.

I think that directly speaking to Mom could have put Zoey in a state of sensory overload. It was just too much to "take in" at one time resulting in high levels of anxiety. I think it was the intensity that Zoey experienced and she needed to withdraw.

Side trip for comparison...I went to Vegas for a wedding. Everywhere I went there was booming music that shook the buildings in the casinos, hotel rooms, when walking between hotels, inside the buffets. I am sensitive to repetitive sounds and felt anxious the entire time I was there. When we finally got on the transport to the airport I could feel my entire body and mind relax. I was SO happy to get out of there!

So what I am saying here is that for Zoey direct eye contact and speaking with her mother present may have resulted in high levels of anxiety. When she went off with the phone, she was on her own with complete control over the phone. She knew what to expect because she controlled it. She apparently had acquired a passive vocabulary of most any typical child and for the first time, she employed that vocab. actively while touring around with the phone.

Does that make sense? The pressure was off.

Autism simply amazes me. I do have some real life experience with a nephew who has autism who is completely non verbal and looks at me out of the corner of his eye. He remembers me even after long periods of absence, he sits near me, he will seek proximity and stand in front of me rocking back and forth, and hugs me when I come and go. He follows verbal direction from family members. He has a routine that is predictable to him. But he does not speak a word. He will not go inside dark places. He wouldn't go in the chapel in Vegas or another church building where we hired an aide to stay with him outside of the building. He is more well traveled than I will ever be but he resists going inside planes even though he's flown hundreds of times. But he knows things. He responds in his own way. I speak to him as I would anyone else and that is our relationship. He also does all of the above with his cousins. It's amazing to see them sit down on the couch and then he walks into the room, hesitates (spies with the side eye!), then sits down on the other side of the couch with them. He's with them, but not exactly with them. He wants to be near us but in the most low key way possible and I think he trusts us to let him lead our interactions with him.

The story of Temple Grandin is outstanding to study. She was nonverbal but is now verbal. Discovered the use of pressure to relieve her autism. She has achieved SO much in her life. Went to university, became a professor, and invented special designs for the slaughter of cattle to reduce their anxiety. She is the voice of autism who has taken us into her world. I cannot recommend her books and TED Talks enough!

Back to Zoey. I think that the short answer is anxiety vs. having the freedom and control over the situation and the phone.

I think if a child such as Zoey or my nephew could tell you exactly how they feel when we're right there in front of them it might come out something like: GET OUT OF MY FACE! BACK OFF! GET OUT OF MY SPACE! YOU ARE TOO MUCH FOR ME! IF YOU DON'T GO AWAY I WILL GO INSIDE OF MYSELF TO GET AWAY FROM YOU!! And they do go inside of themselves.