Bauble babbles: Wait for it...

Let's start the week with one of my favourites. Waiting. Bless my kids, waiting is not one of their talents, but thankfully I've learned that my ability to wait is a virtue when it comes to my boys communicating.

When the boys see so much it can be hard for them to filter the information they need from a question. Like a computer chugging along and slowing down when it has lots of tasks going on, my boys need time to work. They need time to process and then act. 

David needs plenty to time to form his thoughts into a communication. I need to wait. Eventually he manages to Makaton that he wants to watch Toy Story 3. Great - I'll put it on. 

Anthony needs lots of time to process and understand what I'm saying. I need to wait. At the pantomime today I took a snack with us so he eat something familiar. He was prepared for the idea of having ice cream during the interval but when I asked him I still had to wait for about 20 seconds for him to process what I was saying and accept my suggestion. 

20 seconds doesn't sound like a long time? Try it in the middle of a conversation, it feels like an age. After getting the ice cream, he had just two spoons from the tub. Anthony was then finished with it and returned to his familiar rice cakes. 

I'm not at all bothered that he only had a bit of ice cream. In fact it's quite daring if Anthony to eat ice cream that's not presented in a fine (as it should be). But if I'd not waited he'd have missed out on this theatre tradition and perhaps been disappointed later.

So good waiting, and watching of Toy Story 3 and nibbling of ice cream.

Tomorrow: more tips to talk over the festive season 

Last week: Use their choice of communication 

Notes: Thanks for reading Baubley babbles, my notes on helping my family talk over Christmas. My sons are both on the autistic spectrum and we have a two year old daughter. Our son, David is five years old and uses a variety of Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) to talk. Every school day till school restarts I'll post a one thing I'll be keeping in mind to help us all communicate over the festive holidays. Maybe some things will be of interest to you too.