SOLC Day 3: The Power of Words

As I was watching my children play tonight, I was reflecting on how far my oldest son has come with his speech.  He really didn't start talking until 2 1/2 years of age, and even then it was very difficult to understand what he was saying.  He currently receives speech and language services and at times people who don't talk to him frequently struggle to understand what he is saying.  With that being said, he works so hard at his speech is very proud of himself when he finallly masters a new sound or correct pronoun.  My youngest two, on the other hand, came out of the womb speaking.  I seriously can't remember a time when they couldn't talk.  I truly believe that their speech is what has helped my oldest makes such huge leaps and bounds in terms of his speech.  One thing all three of them had in common was using new words my oldest created in place of commonly used words.  Some of my all time favorite creations were:  bajew (cookie), bock bock (chicken nuggets), pow pow (Lightening McQueen) and lasterday (yesterday).  It's funny how I can so distinctly remember hearing him say these words for the first time, but not other moments within his speech life.  Tonight, listening to him sing London Bridge and Ring Around the Rosie with his siblings makes me so proud of how far he's come with his speech. This is especially true since there was a point and time when I was worried about him never learning to speak.