Vocabulary

A few weeks ago when I was working with Nicholas's therapists and teacher to develop goals for his IEP, his speech therapist asked me about how many words he has in his vocabulary. At the time I guessed he had about twenty words, but wasn't completely sure. So this morning I conducted a little experiment in which I wrote down every word I heard him say until he went down for his nap. Here is what I wrote:

mom, dad, I want ball, okay, fish, no, yeah, sis, tall, big, blue, uh-oh, red, go...I want to go, yellow, play, help, hi, night, bye, play with me, ow, one, two, three, hot dog, roll, baby, more, car...I want car, woo-hoo, tub, the end, Amen, that's all, get out, I need bink, more, la la la, we

Apparently Nicholas has a much bigger vocabulary than I thought! He said about forty different words and phrases in a five hour period. He also repeated prompts from his dad and me and some of his cartoons. He also sang his ABC's and some other songs with me during bath time and on our walk. I love hearing his sweet voice and am amazed at how much he talks now that he is three. It is also so nice that other people can understand what he is saying and can respond to him or get him what he wants. I am so grateful that Nicholas has the ability to speak because not all children with SMA are able to talk.

We definitely do not take his language for granted and love all his new words!