Difficulty in communication is the dominant manifestation of Andrew’s disorder.
Andrew now has a spoken vocabulary of just a few words. Mommy, Daddy, Meanie, Buggy (his nickname), Good Buggy, Good Buggy Boy. Every once in a while a word will just pop out ... then disappear again.
Andrew’s receptive language is much higher but hard to gauge. It is easy to forget he is always listening.
If one speaks to Andrew clearly and directly he will often understand and follow multi step directions.
Andrew has a limited use of other forms of communications.
He can work with a picture exchange system (Pecs) where he has a picture card that represents something. Generalizing is very difficult for him though ... Does that Pec just represent cars or does it represent just mom’s little green station wagon?
A year ago after a great deal of work Andrew developed an affinity for sign language ...
he uses “food,” “drink” “more” “want” & “no” and seems to understand several other signs.
Even though he rarely uses language Andrew has never stopped babbling and verbalizing.
He is not silent our world is awash in sing song squeaks, squawks, screams, grunts, laughs, & giggles.
Routine:
