So at Townes' 18 month check up the pediatrician asked how many words he used. I told her he didn't have any words. She didn't seem extremely concerned but she did suggest early intervention "just in case". I'm not worried about him, since I can tell he's just like Cory - right-brained. Left brain is language, and right brain is emotion and images and design. I haven't found any list milestones that are strictly related to right-brained development - like "does he get jokes? that is usually at 24 months". Cause Townes was making jokes at 10 months, is he advanced? I don't know. Doctors are all left-brained...
My question for you is how can I help Townes develop his language knowing that he is primarily right-brained and a tactile learner? I should have started sign language, where do I start with that now? I stocked up on touchy, feely books and that totally increased Townes' interest in storytime (see last post) but what else?
If you're curious to know if you are primarily right brained or left brained, I found a quiz online.
I wanted Cory to take the test so that I could get a glimpse into Townes' mind, and he was pretty much super-annoyed by it. Cory figured out a major flaw in any test about this. Tests are verbal, sequential and ultimately left-brained. If you really want to see if someone is right-brained there should be a big question at the top - "do you want to take this test?" nope? you're right brain. I laughed really really hard.
4 comments:
Peirce was pretty much a non-talker at 3. There is a lot of early intervention funding here. I got some for him and he was able to go a special pre-school that was totally funded. He worked with a speech therapist every day. Now the kid never shuts up. I am still undecided though as to whether the therapy really did it or if he was just a late bloomer. I think there are a lot of boys who tend to be late bloomers as far as speech goes.
I love the part about getting jokes. I still remember one of Alice's first jokes - I think it should be a developmental mile stone with it's own section of a baby book. Eve didn't have any word at 18 months either. For her, I don't think it is because she is particularly right or left brained, I think she is just a late bloomer. I mean she didn't even stand up until she was 10 months old, didn't crawl till 11 months and didn't walk until she was 16 months old - and not because movement isn't important to her. The kid hardly ever walks now -she runs everywhere and loves pushing herself and seeing what she can do ( or what her mom will let her do ). At two, she had a handful of words. She was talking a little by 2 and a half, but only if we made her. She really wasn't that interested in language until she turned 3. Now she is pretty much caught up - though her improper use of pronouns drives Andrew crazy,"Him" instead of he etc. I think 18 months is too early to be worried about speech therapy. In regards to sing language I did baby signs with Alice - I used the book Baby Minds and the book Baby Minds by Linda Acrodolo. Alice liked it, especially learning them through books and songs. There was a time when she was around 14 months, and Andrew and I were talking about the songs she "knew" and started listing them. She would do the actions for the songs when we said the titles. When we thought we had listed them all, she did the actions for the songs we had forgotten. We were all, " our baby is so smart!" If he is more tactile, he might like adding actions to pictures you see in books. You could try it, but I find with kids, they learn what they are interested in. Alice, when she was two, decided she really wanted to learn the alphabet, and would always pick alphabet books. By the time she was26 months she knew her letters better than Jackie did at the age of 5. However, Jackie had a huge vocabulary at 2 and didn't want to read boring books about letters - she wanted stories and she wanted to make up stories and could play for making out soap opera type stories about a handful of pencil crayons. Eve is all about the puzzles lately. Kids are all so different - something you totally get since you have Dot and Townes -such interesting kids.
Good advice guys!
We watched this over and over, Ben officially said he wants a boy. I don't think it's a boy thing, I agree with you in that it has to do with the way his brain is wired.
Our nephew Jack is very similar to Townes, always observing, and taking everything in. He is now 3 and loves taking things apart to see how they work. He talks now, but is still a little bit quiet and loves blowing things up in the microwave.
Post a Comment