(A lot of people have been curious about the Big Box of Words, so maybe I'll make this a regular feature.)
Today at lunch, Schuyler grasped, using her device, two concepts that I hadn't really thought about but which I'd suspect are tricky for little kids. She spelled all these things out on the BBoW, and she pointed to Julie and me and herself to indicate who she was talking about.
So here's what Schuyler told us on her device today.
1) Her name is not just Schuyler, but Schuyler Hudson. She understands that both names refer to herself, and she taught herself how to spell it by looking at her medical alert dogtags.
2) My name is not just Daddy, but also Rob, and Mommy is Julie, too. I told her she could call us whatever she wanted (a position I've always taken, liberal hippie freakshow that I am), but she's going to stick with Mommy and Daddy for now.
She had her Barbie mermaid with her, and when we asked her what the doll's name was, she looked on the toy itself for clues. She found one and started typing happily on the BBoW, relieved to dodge the pressure of coming up with something by herself.
As a result, apparently her Barbie's name is Mattel. Nice to meet you.
16 comments:
I love that! Mattel...Heh-heh.
I think she just wanted to be left alone with her cheeseburger. "What do I have to say to get some peace?"
I love it!!! Schuyler makes having kids sound awesome.
I like it. If you say it right, it kinda sounds French.
Smart girlie. And the way she gets around on the BBoW...I just think that is such an amazing device, and it seems like she's getting so much more from it than just her other "voice."
On the "Mommy is not my only name" front I am reminded of something that cracked me up a couple of years ago... When my friend Kate's son was little, everyone was chatting around the dinner table. After a while, with much exasperation, H yells, "WHO IS KATE?!" He could not figure out who the hell everyone thought they were talking to.
That little picture of Schuyler from behind with the crazy hair and fairy wings makes me smile every time.
Mattel. So she's naming her dolls the way some people are naming their children these days. Weird names are in.
My younger one liked to give her toys less imaginative names. Her stuffed animals were Black Doggie 1, Black Doggie 2, Black Doggie 3...well, you get the picture.
One day, she told me that a particular Barbie's name was "Heddy." I was all excited. Here, at last, an imaginative name. (Like Schuyler's Kelly, I thought.)
But no. It was only because her head came off.
You can have grandpets with imaginative names. Me, I'll be stuck with Bird 1 and Bird 2.
And mine's supposedly the normal kid. Sigh.
My niece Casey (who has much less severe speech issues, but has gone through a lot of the same sorts of therapy) has the concept of "Mommy and Jeff," or more acurrately, "Mommy, and HEY, JEFF!" because that's the only thing she'll call her dad.
That's really wonderful that she's learned to piece that out herself. And I guess it's not surprising that you weren't sure how to address the issue ("Schuyler, my name is Rob...") because it seems so elementary and abstract at the same time. This news must be really encouraging to you!
I've always wondered - how future-adaptable is the BBOW? Can this system be expanded to accommodate a larger vocabulary/skill set, or when she's older if she wants to get a more sophisticated version?
Hahaha! Funny :) In a similar vein, my daughter went through a stage (oh, maybe she's still in it) where she INSISTS that every toy/animal/doll comes with a name. She makes us look at the bottoms of things to find the names. So we have a lot of things named China (or Made in China) around here and she asked me recently "Why do they name all the toys China?"
Now that is one adorable photo! :-D
I don't know much about "normal" child development stages, but from my own vague memories of being 6 or 7 years old, isn't being able to type out words and come up with correct spelling for new words pretty darn awesome? I'm impressed, anyhow. :-)
So, you guys are the Rummel-Hudsons, but she's just a Hudson? Was that for any particular reason, or did it just make more sense for printing the dog tags? Inquiring minds want to know. Well, okay, this one.
We figured "Schuyler" was punishment enough. We decided she was going to be Hudson long before we knew about her condition, but as it turns out, it was probably a good choice, especially given the amount of typing out her name she's going to have to do during her lifetime.
Ok, I always read and never comment, but "Mattel" made me laugh so hard I cried.
Denise H, Topeka, KS
It reminds me of Ramona Quimby's doll, Chevrolet. But she knew it was the name of a car and just thought it was so beautiful anyway. :)
Mattel has a nice ring to it.
hey you have a pretty inteligent babie she will grow up one day and will be like her mommy and daddy. that was very inspirering when i have kids one day i hope they will turn out like you. lol hahaha. my name is tiorite and i am 19 yrs of age.
Out of the mouths of babes. Any kid who can do that with her AAC device is gifted!
www.teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com
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