My Little Pianist

I can't think of David ever having seen anyone play a real piano before. He's got one of those xylophone ones with 5 keys on it. But when he sat in front of this piano, he put both of his little hands on the keyboard like he knew what he was doing! He both banged and picked at the keys.

My ears were surprised when I heard him hitting the highest C, then the lowest C over & over. On his little xylophone, he would do the same thing with the highest note & the lowest note. Then he started playing the higher F#. He played that note a few times, then looked at the keyboard for a few seconds, then without wavering, played the lower F#. Coincidence??? I don't know....

Notice in the photo above where his right hand is... Now, below, look where his other hand is! If you're not familiar with the keyboard, he's got both hands on the set of 3 black keys in both octaves.


Now, if you know David, you know he's very bright (of course) and very loving, but he doesn't talk much. The speech therapist at WTRC wants to put him in group therapy once a week, but she didn't know of a group to put him in, so it may take a while to get together. We've set up a screening with ECI for another evaluation. That initial meeting will take place on March 13 because she was on spring break next week.

Please, do not post a comment that says, "Don't worry, he'll start talking when he's ready." And especially do not tell me, "He'll start talking soon enough, then you'll wish he would shut up." Heard them... You're not having an original thought if that's what you're thinking. I have decided that when David starts talking, I will not wish he would shut up, I will be thankful for every word he says. Now I may have to remind myself that every so often, but that's my decision.

I just finished reading a book called Late-Talking Children by Thomas Sowell. I'd recommend it to anyone who has a speech delayed child that you can tell is otherwise very bright. I'd also recommend it to anyone who knows/loves a child like that - therefore I'm recommending it to everyone who reads this blog. I found it at the library. David seems to fit into the pattern he found among these children. I've also started teaching him more sign language, which he's doing pretty well at picking up. I'm thankful for the class that Momma & I took in ASL at TSTC that summer (and that I still had the book!).

You're also welcome to go to this page to read more comments from other parents of late talkers if you think I'm getting carried away with this. I know David is smart. I do not think anything is wrong with him. But being around other kids his age, I've seen the difference. And by reading these other people's comments, I see that I'm not alone.