The Ben Report: March

Figured it was time for an update on how Ben's doing.  For the last six weeks he's been going to a preschool for kids with developmental issues.  He qualified because of his speech delay.  He gets speech therapy there, and he gets to interact with other English-speaking kids.  And, boy, has his speech been improving!  The way he interacts with us has changed, too.  Before he started preschool he wouldn't talk about anything that happened in the past (we couldn't get him to talk about what he did earlier in the day or week).  He also had phrases that he would repeat but sometimes not in the right context.  Now we can ask him things like what he had for snack at preschool, and what they read about at circle time.  He also puts together sentences a lot more on his own, and he can ask for exactly what he wants more often.  Plus his vocabulary is really taking off; it seems like he knows more words each day.  His teachers say he's doing great in the class and have commented on how well-behaved and polite he is (I nearly choked when I heard that).  They said that he loves computer time in the classroom but does not throw a fit when the timer tell him his turn is over (again, is this MY kid?).  And of course they think he's just adorable.  So do his German bus drivers: they love seeing him and say he's just a great kid.  Ben's also loving the playtime with other kids his age.  Every day, he asks to play with "other kids."  Oh, and he now knows all the days of the week.  He sees the weekend as just those two days that "preschool is closed."  He can't wait for Monday when it's open again.

It can still be frustrating to get him to talk sometimes.  Here's part of a conversation from yesterday, after Mike and Ben went to the park and saw our friend Saundra walking her dog Jack:
   Mike: "Ben, tell Momma who you saw at the park today!"
   Ben: "Slide."
   Mike: "No, Ben.  Who did you see at the other park?"
   Ben: "Tire swing."
   Mike: (sighs) "No, Ben.  WHO did you see at the park?  Did you see a dog?"
   Ben: "Yes."
   Mike: "What was the dog's name?"
   Ben: "Woof."
   Mike: "No, did you see a dog named Spot?"
   Ben:  (half paying attention) "Yes."
   Mike: (sighs again) "No, Ben.  Did you see a dog named Jack?"
   Ben: (look of recognition) "Yes!"
   Mike: "That's right!  And did you see Saundra at the park?"
   Ben: "Yeah!  Saundra!"
Sometimes it's a little like pulling teeth.  But it's getting so much better.
Here are some pics of Ben in his natural habitat...