I am impressed with Alli’s speech and language progress this year. Alli is far more intelligibly verbal and using short phrases in the school setting. Alli verbally greets me with a hello and one to two reciprocal exchanges each time I come to get her for a speech session. I have also seen her initiate a greeting to a peer verbally this school year. The latency in response when she verbally answers a question is significantly decreased as well this year, many times it is immediate or within 5 seconds.
Alli is quite proficient with the use of the iTouch using the Proloquo2Go Communication App as well. We have had instances where she has become frustrated with something at school and was unable to verbally express her concern to use but with prompting expressed pain using the iTouch. She independently creates icons in the program when given the words (verbally or in written form) to program into the icon but has not yet spontaneously generated topics.
Allison has been extra expressive at school in the last few months. I have worked with her for 7 years. She too has gone through many changes but the most exciting is her desire and ability to express herself. More and more she uses her words to interact with the people around her. She has been responding to greetings in the halls and classrooms more often just in the last few months. It used to be only in the classroom she was in, now it’s everywhere she goes.
Yesterday she said, “hi” to a boy in the hall: “Hi boy!” He replied: “Hi.” She was pleased. Monday she greeted 2 girls. “Hi girls.” They smiled and said “Hi” in return. The greetings were an appropriate volume and tone, with more feeling than in the past.
Today, Allison called a classmate name “Yen Yu, Hi” Yen Yu said hello to her and Alli seemed very happy. She will often call out across the classroom to a friend by name and want to “talk a you.”
There seems to be more feeling in her speech and different tones, even when we can’t understand her words, we can tell there are changes in her tone. Sometimes that helps us figure out what she’s saying.
Today we swam in the pool for phy ed. She told me on the way into the pool area “No timer” I said okay, then you can swim until 9:15 (There’s a clock in the pool area) we can look at the clock. She was great about the end of swimming and when I said “okay Alli, time to shower.” She replied “okay” She used to need the timer on and argue with me.
I think she knows she’s being more grown up, and like her peers. She is very aware of others and seems happier and more comfortable around others. She has been more tolerant of smaller spaces, busy hallways, and new situations lately. Overall Allison appears much less anxious and comfortable here at school. She also responds more quickly to all communication.