A little more about Liam

Liam came home with  a lot of sounds, but no real words. Having spent his entire life in an institutional setting, with no one to teach him, it's understandable that he would not learn to speak. How sad! It's one of the things we as parents enjoy hearing...is our child saying his or her first word. Wouldn't someone in the 7 years he spent in an institution want to hear my precious boy's first word? Not one person tried to teach Liam how to speak? I have one word for you: NEGLECT.
Liam has some high pitched sounds, some grunting noises, some throat sounds, loud snorts, and humming. He does them at different times depending on his mood. The humming  always comes when he is upset or annoyed. This is the sound that bothers me the most. Not because it is annoying (it is), but because I know that something is upsetting Liam and he cannot express what it is. I always scoop him up and hold him close to me. Most of the time that helps. Sometimes, all he wants is a drink of juice. We are working daily on the "drink" and "eat" signs. I believe he is very close to doing them by himself. He is also babbling now. I have hope for my sweet little boy.

His school is using a picture communication system with Liam and I have one at home also. But mostly I use sign language and verbalize the word at the same time. Liam understands when I say things like, "Do you want to eat?",  "Come here", "Let's go bye-bye", "Let's go night-night", "Time for a bath" (his favorite)......and several more words and phrases. He signs "bath" and has attempted to vocalize it too. He does say "Mama" (my favorite) but does not call me Mama yet. He is making progress. His noises have quieted down a lot and I am hopeful that one day he will talk. :)

Every day is a new day for Liam. A new day to learn and a new day to experience life as a little boy, and being a part of our family. Adopting Liam has been a learning experience for me too. I've learned that there's no need to be sad for what we've lost (7 years) but to rejoice in every precious moment that we have now. I have one word for you: BLESSED.