Teddy is completely nonverbal. While he does make sounds, they are not related to any letter, word, or speech. They are just reflective of his mood, so excitement or anger, etc. He has a communication device that he is able to select words and it will talk for him, but he hasn’t quite figured it out completely and doesn’t like to use it. He does communicate in unconventional ways though, but it is definitely hard to know what Teddy is thinking or wanting.
If you know Teddy, then you know he loves his books and words! He loves his dictionary and is a pro at using it. He has been obsessed with letters since birth almost and he is also obsessed with nursery rhymes and kids songs. Well today he did something he has never done before to communicate with me something he wanted!
He quickly walked over to me with his dictionary and excitedly pointed to words as he flipped the pages and then looked at me expectingly. At first I had no idea what he was wanting, but he showed me again and I realized he was asking me to sing him a song! I was amazed! The video below is him asking me to sing the Zoo Song. . We then spent the next 30 mins singing songs he pointed out in the dictionary. If I couldn’t figure out the one he was wanting, he would find another word in the lyrics until I would sing the right song. He definitely amazes us every day!
Please excuse my singing voice and the messy room!