Progress

Sometimes when foster children come into your home they are delayed in their development.

When you are in "survival mode" all the time your body, and mind can't develop normally.

As a result of some tough times there is a little three year old in our home who can't talk.

He makes ONE SOUND.

He is chatty by nature so we hear this sound all day long.

I talk to him and if he is asking for something I repeat the word to him and try to get him to say it to me.

But if I am busy I tend to tune this one sound out. (If I didn't I would go stark raving crazy.)

Last night I was giving him a bath.

He loves baths and he makes his "sound" constantly.

With lots of chuckling, and hand motions mixed in to let me know how happy he is.

I was not really listening to him, but suddenly I noticed something was different.

Instead of his "one sound" there were lots of little sounds.

It sounded a little like a cassette tape being played backward.

Very garbled, but he was trying SO HARD.

He was "talking."

Granted, I couldn't understand him, but at least he was trying.

I was so excited I snatched him out of the tub--wrapped a towel around him--and hauled him out to the living room.

"Listen!"  I yelled  "He's talking!" 

Progress is a beautiful thing!!!