Step One: Communication is Key

When the boys first started at the special needs preschool they were being treated for delayed speech development. I remember very clearly the day I realized that we needed to do something. It was late Fall in 2005. The boys were over 3 years old and still not talking at all. Up until this point I had attributed their lack of speech to the fact they were twins and twins are known to develop speech later than single birth children. Finally, though, with the help of family and friends I came to the realization that we needed to intervene. We contacted Student Services in Madison County and scheduled an appointment for the boys to be evaluated.

I cannot speak highly enough about the special needs program in Madison County. From the moment I contacted them I had a sense of relief and peace. They came out to our house to evaluate the boys at home and we were always treated with the top level of respect and encouragement. They were all a Godsend to us. Ms. Hope (right) was our first teacher at the special needs preschool. She was such a blessing!

Picture Exchange

Soon after the evaluation the boys started at the special needs preschool where they worked on developing a method of communication while they learned to use their words to communicate. The first method we were taught was the picture exchange method. With this method they would grab a picture of what they needed and show us. This resolved many issues that before would have ended in tears.

I went around the house and took pictures of their favorite things for personalized picture exchange cards such as a peanut butter sandwich (Ryan's favorite) and chicken and cream cheese roll-ups (Colin's favorite). We also used generic cards for picture exchange, like potty, bathtub, time to eat, and many more.

I also made picture cards for apple juice and milk. The boys love apple juice and before we learned about the picture exchange method they would just grab the bottle from the refrigerator to bring to us. This was fine, except that is was very heavy, and left us open to a potential emotional breakdown if they dropped the bottle. The picture just made it much easier.

We would also use people pictures to tell the boys where we were going when we needed them to get ready. It didn't always click with them for us to say, "We are going to Barbara's house," or "We are going to school." But, if I showed them the picture at the same time, then Whammo! Success.

We used the picture exchange method heavily for about a year and a half. As the boys learned more words to express their needs and feelings we were able to gradually work our way away from the picture queues.

Sign Language

The special needs preschool uses very basic signs to help the children communicate their needs. They also use these to reinforce the language development and help the children learn what the words mean. Colin and Ryan learned to sign the alphabet very early on. In fact, for Colin especially, signing the alphabet was a way for him to calm himself when overstimulated. He could focus his attention on signing and block out the distractions around him. This was especially useful when he broke his arm and was in the hospital waiting for the bone to be set. While the doctor and several nurses were working on him we had him sign his alphabet (with his left hand, since it was his right arm that was broken), and this helped keep him calm and well distracted until the anesthesia took effect.

A few of the signs they used heavily included:

• "More" - This is used mainly by the child when asking for more food or drink.
  
• "Help" - This is used by the child to ask for help with something, such as unbuckling the seatbelt to their chair.
  
• "Where?" - This was mainly used by the adults to help them understand what we were asking them when we wanted them to find something, like their bookbag or jacket.
  
• "Please" - As they learned to ask for what they needed I emphasized saying please with the request. I would often (and still do) use this sign to prompt them to use their good manners.

To be continued...

I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing about it. It is a great feeling to look back on where you have been and see how far you have come. This is a work-in-progress. I am sure there will be many edits and additions to this before I feel like it is finished (in fact, it may never be completely finished). Thanks for reading & please feel free to leave your comments.