TAKING THE TIME TO "LISTEN"

Below is a video of what I found Jonah doing this morning after breakfast.  

One of the skills we have to have in communicating with Jonah is we constantly have to trace back to what we have been talking about.  Chances are something that Jonah heard us say caused him to think about something else, and that something else (or it may be a 2nd or 3rd leap of thought) is what he is currently trying to communicate to us.  

So at breakfast, Jonah and I were "talking" about the Grinch movie.  We finished breakfast, and I was cleaning things up.  Jonah started creating a scene in the living room by our tree.  Then I heard him singing.  When I went over to ask him what he was doing, he said something, but sadly I couldn't understand what he was saying (often our dilemma as Jonah gets more creative).  However, Jonah is getting more resourceful/determined so he proceeded to hunt down the Grinch DVD and excitedly pointed to it.  Then the light bulb went on for me.  

This is what Jonah acted out this morning:

This is the scene from the Grinch movie he was trying to recreate:

With Jonah, it always makes sense once you take the time to understand his context.  

The biggest mistakes one can make when interacting with a nonverbal person is assuming because he can't talk that he doesn't have anything to say.  From experience, we are realizing Jonah has some amazing stories to tell...if we take the time and effort to "listen".