Among the other milestones that the amateur child development specialists (friends, relatives, colleagues, random people at the grocery store) like to comment on is talking. Does Capone talk in sentences? Why doesn’t he say “no”? Maybe he would talk more if you weren’t teaching him sign language, etc.
But Capone does “talk” in complex sentences. He signs all done when he thinks the homily at mass has gone on long enough, but also when he’s finished eating or ready to get out of the tub. I’ve realized in the last week or so that years of deciphering bad student handwriting has paid off hugely in my ability to translate toddler speak. Capone talks A LOT but the average person who hasn’t spent years translating hand written reading quizzes and exams and emails that are written in some variation of text-speak isn’t really equipped to translate.
For example.
- Both frequently include long strings of words that run together and may or may not be about related ideas.
- These long strings of words are rarely punctuated.
- The answer may or may not be relevant to the question (Ex. Q: Can you point to your toes? A: Moo!)
- Both rely heavily on context clues and “sounds like” to convey meaning.
- Both sometimes throw fits when you guess the meaning wrong.
- Even mundane observations/requests include excessive use of the exclamation point!!!!!!!!!!!!
Capone has very good receptive language skills. He can identify and bring me objects from the word (book, shoe, block, hat, phone, etc) and he can point to several body parts when asked (head, nose, belly, toes), but he doesn’t say any of those words. He can tell you that a cow says “Moooo” and that he wants to go “ownsars” (downstairs). But people ask him questions like “Can you talk?” to which he stairs at them blankly (and sometimes signs “all done”)
There are days when I don’t have a clue what he is asking for or saying, but there has been more than student paper that I’ve picked up that I’ve read and reread and still not been able to decipher any meaning.
