Updated below.
Maya talks. Constantly. At this point, however, I might understand perhaps 10% of what she says, and the rest is babble that’s structured like sentences, has the tonal ups, downs, and pauses of a conversation, yet is still unintelligible.
That’s starting to change. New stuff:
- Oh, cool. The first time I heard this, I did a double-take, and thought I imagined it. Then I heard it again and started asking myself, “do I say that? Often?” Oh, cool.
- I fell down! This one was clear as day and in context with absolutely no question what was said (I had a witness who heard the same I did). We were walking along a sidewalk through the central part of Garden of the Gods, and Maya chose to walk *just* off the sidewalk. She tripped, then caught herself with her hands. “I fell down!” It was very matter-of-fact, and she got right up again.
I know that for some other kids Maya’s age, this is NOTHING. My nephew is speaking so clearly now that it’s stunning. But for us, this is something new, and it’s huge to me.
Update:
She’s reading. Sort of. At the very least, Maya is starting to recognize the shapes of words. I just clicked on the telly and pulled up the “Recorded Programs” screen from the DVR. Maya pointed at the correct block and said, “Oobi!” Gulp.
In the same way that she’s forming complete sentences from gibberish, I somehow wouldn’t be surprised if she learns to read whole words rather than individual letters.
