When our daughter was diagnosed at 18 months, you could have heard a pin drop. She had been having services since 12 months, when one of her therapists told us, "you know this maybe all that she speaks." It was a blow, but we said ok, we will take it as it comes. We didn't know how much she understood or what she took in, but we knew she listened. When she was 5, Her grandmother gave her a stuffed duck for Christmas the year before and she took it everywhere. That summer I took her to the local ecology site to where the animals are. When she came upon the duck pond. She looked at them and at me and tried to climb in. I told her no and she understood. She looked at me and said, "Feathers?" I told her yes they have feathers. "Real Feathers?" and I said yes they are real feathers. She sat there and just watched as they flapped their wings and walked and played in the water. It was then I realized, moreso than before, that when she spoke it would mean something. It still does. She speaks when she wants something or wants to be understood. Some gibberish some not, but always adament. Shes almost 7 now but her launguage is developing. She is amazing.

Michelle Kaan
Long Island, NY