What started out as complete meltdowns in trying to get him to do something other than puzzles, books and blocks gradually turned into a distant interest. He would sit and watch as Austin and I, or whoever else was there, would play with dolls, pretend food, or cars. This was exciting on its own, because before he wanted nothing to do with it! Even if he was looking at us like we were crazy, at least he was watching.
Over the last several years, my cousin Katey has been a wonderful friend and teacher for Jacob. She is passionate about helping him and has spent the last two summers home from college as his habilitation provider. She worked with him a lot on pretend play, and I truly feel that she has helped him progress tremendously. In the last month, Jacob has started to ask to play with his "house" and has even done some pretend food play on his own. Everything he acts out has been something that we have shown him to do, but it's a start!
I'm writing about this today because I feel like we have made a leap in progress again. He asked to play with his house again and I brought it down for us while Madison napped. This is a Playmobil Summer House, which is great for him because there are so many pieces and he can put it all together, but not so great for Madi, who likes to put everything in her mouth. So we only get it out while she's napping or out with daddy.
Jacob got the people out and labeled them all for me, "Boy, dirl (girl), boy, dirl." Then he set up the table and beds as he usually does. He likes to set up the table but doesn't bother with any of the house's many other pieces unless we ask him to. I asked him if he thought the boy should take a bath and he told me, "Lay down!" This is a new phrase for him and he's been saying it a lot, so that's good. Then, he put all the dolls in their beds and said, "Boy, dirl, nigh nigh!"
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| Jacob playing with his "House" |
Later in the day, long after we had put away the house, Jacob kept saying, "Bed, bed, bed!" to me. I wasn't paying him much attention because I was brushing my hair, but he kept saying it. I finally looked around and was about ready to ask him if he wanted to take a nap. What I saw when I turned around was that he had taken a pillow and put it in a laundry basket, which he was laying down in. I was so happy to see that! I asked him if he was pretending to be in a bed and with a big goofy smile on his face he said, "Yeah!"
I know that seems insignificant compared to other children his age that are talking up a storm and coming up with wacky stories all over the place, but for us this is a huge deal! He is self-initiating in pretend play, which hasn't happened hardly at all. I was proud of him for just repeating what we did when we played with the house, but I have never ever pretended to make a bed with a laundry basket. That was completely his idea. It's a big step developmentally for him, and I am a proud momma!
