More in SHAPE

James has started working with his new SHAPE person! So now he also gets some special one-on-one time Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Fridays, instead of just Mondays and Thursdays.

I stayed out of James' line of sight in the next room, reading a book. Just to check in that they didn't need me. They certainly didn't. So after about 20 minutes I moved down the hall to my office. It's dusty! Kidding! Kind of!

James' speech is getting much clearer and he is now saying 3-syllable words that others can easily recognize. Um, I think 3 weeks ago he could not do this. He is working on letter recognition and has a pretty good grip on the alphabet. Listening in today made me smile. There is so much more give & take in the verbal process now in his SHAPE sessions. It used to be almost a monologue for his first SHAPE assistant. He has better focus and can stay with a task much longer than before.

Except if he is cranky. Cranky=all bets off. Cranky prompted throwing of puzzle pieces into the sink (nice arc on your throws, James, BTW) when alone with Mommy and got him another Time Out. Cranky wipes out speech and brings on the screeches and screams. The tears. Cries of "A-Daddy! A-Nana!" And many many tears. James gets tropical storms of emotional outbursts -- fierce, loud, wet, and mercifully brief.

James likes to work with his word cards and can actually talk about what he sees on them. Not a lot, but he's talking!

Sometimes lately, I catch him sizing me up thoughtfully while I am busy at something. His sister does this all the time. I am seeing him do it more and more. It reminds me that I need to watch out for bad habits -- like swearing. A few weeks ago, he repeated a word I'd really rather he forget I said. Yikes! How about a popsickle, James? A red one? Yes, talk about *that* all you like!!!