Steps

Last evening the boys were playing outside and NB did something totally new!
He has recently started playing with the little basketball goal we have out there, although it is too tall for him. So I was picking him up and holding him just within arm's reach of the goal, telling him to "put it in", "put the ball in" so he would do it, and I would cheer (and repeatprocess several times). Last evening as we were doing this, NB was jabbering as I held him, waiting for him to put the ball in the basket. It seemed very deliberate so I said "ball" very clearly and he watched my mouth and I said it a couple more times and he said "ba-ba" !!!! I praised him and he put it in and I ran in the house to tell PJ (who was taking it easy at the time). We both came back out and I got NB back in the game again and said "ball" every time and he said "baa" at least two more times. And once, after he picked the ball back up, and as he lifted his arms to be raised up again he said "baa", which is pretty much requesting, something he has never done before! So he was labelling and requesting!

PJ also told me later that NB signed "more" when he was giving the boys some chicken for supper (I was at the store). He was giving PJ5 a piece and NB was watching him, then he looked down at his hands and put them together in the sign for "more". PJ said "do you want more?" and got another piece for him. But he told me "it was almost like he(NB) was talking to himself, because he didn't look at me but down at his hands."

I haven't said much here about PJ5, but he is making a lot of progress at school. His progress tends to fluctuate, and he is on a big upswing right now. Our IEP meeting went well and was very encouraging. I'll probably share more about it later.