"Mama Bup"

"Mama bup"  -  Oh what a sweet sound those two words are!

Quite an exciting night tonight when my sweet little Ally started pulling on my legs wanting me to pick her up and very clearly said "Mama bup" . She has been saying Mama for awhile and I have been saying/signing  "up" to her for months when I pick her up but she really has not responded in the past. I have plugged along knowing that one day she would put it together and sign or say "up".

Since I have been home with her for Christmas break we have spent a lot of time working on signing and "talking".  The  data collector in me has tracked her signs and words on my newly created flow charts/tables.This past week she has consistently signed 25-30 words voluntarily, another 15-20 with cues and spoke between 5- 8 words daily. Her speaking consists of some intelligable words and sounds that she makes consistently for things. I knew that she was communicating more but to see the cold hard facts right there in print really let me see how well she is doing. I printed everything off  and plan to make a communication binder so that I can have a record of how she is doing. Maybe I missed my calling and I really should have been a researcher since I love "collecting evidence".

Today she has not been feeling well  - congestion again- and had been quite fussy. Not really into all the activities that I had planned and basically spent the day hanging out with me and wanting me to hold her. She heard the word up many times today as I was repeatedly reaching down to pick her up and by this afternoon she started to play around with the b and p sounds.  Tonight I was thrilled when she put two words together and very clearly communicated what she wanted. I think I just might have to record this as her first sentence!

I have learned from this experience. It has taught me that persistance and repetition are key. I know this is true with my own patients but I think because I want her to talk to me so badly that I loose sight of what I already know. When I didn't think she was catching on or that what I was doing was effective it actually was doing something. It was just a matter of time for her to process it, be able to motor plan and to execute it and when everything was in place she was able to put it together. This helps me hang in there and to reaffirm my conviction that Ally will talk when she is ready. For right now... Mama bup is music to my ears!