Nolan thinks our cat is "eegee." He's not wrong.When you find out your kid has a hearing loss, you find out that one of the things they miss out on is "incidental learning." They don't overhear things as easily, and might miss out on some language and learning opportunities. This is probably why, for instance, Nolan looked at me blankly when I asked him where the toy firetruck was. We haven't specifically sat down to play with firetrucks and labeled them as such (this has been remedied, by the way).
On the other hand, we have some additional "language helpers" in our house. Matthew loves playing with Nolan (most of the time) and has obviously been teaching him new words. Today I have heard the following- none of which has been taught to Nolan by Dennis or myself:
My! (mine!)
Eegee (stinky)
Puh (poop)
Weh! (away, as in "go away!")
The words are piling on fast and furious. "Mine" is the current favorite, and he is beginning to resemble the seagulls in Finding Nemo. As much as I'm not a fan of the word "mine," there's something really cool about his brother teaching him words that we probably wouldn't. Brothers rock.
7 comments:
I was just thinking about incidental learning today. It's amazing how much a typical hearing child learns through this avenue and how much work (and perception) it takes to fill the gap. I've often wondered how Ethan's progress would be changed or be different had he been raised with an older sibling. But he's stuck with me, and our 2 cats :-)
I have been out of the loop for a while and am amazed at all of Nolan's progress. He is doing great!
Thanks for your comment on my blog. It turns out that your son was born exactly one year before mine! We have already registered and begun with JTC--great program!
First, what a great picture of your boys! They are so dang cute! I've been lagging on keeping up with my blogs, and I am just amazed at Nolan's vocabulary! It seems like he's hit that "take off" point and hasn't looked back! I am so excited for you all! And isn't it great what older siblings can teach the younger ones! Sometimes we just need to roll our eyes, smile, and look the other way! :)
Heather, having a sibling can be great sometimes, but the opportunity for one-on-one time is almost absent. Except for staggered nap times, Nolan wouldn't get ANY one-on-one (which makes reading and speech therapy difficult at times)! A mixed bag of extra language opportunities and less time, I suppose. We also have two cats, one slightly more evil than the other!
Tammy, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC!!!!!
Still squealing- can't wait to see the issue!!!
Luca loves teasing his sister, Sophie with mine. He learned it around the same age as Nolan, too. Since I'm so happy that he's using the word, it's easy to find the word "mine" endearing and love that is shows his sibling connection.
That's great! Abby has some favorite words she says now, like "okay," (said like a teenager) which I didn't teacher her, and to most parents it would be annoying, but I'm just glad she's talking and picking up on language from other people besides me!
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