Last Day of Kindergarten

Bertrand's last day of kindergarten was a bit anticlimactic after the past few weeks of field trips and celebrations.

I had incorrectly assumed he'd be included in a mainstream kindergarten graduation ceremony the same way he has been integrated all year.  I didn't realize that their program ended a week before his.  I should've simply asked.  Live and learn.

Fortunately, Bertrand's report card made up for everything.  He has really flourished this past year.  His biggest gains at school were in speech and language.   Through both eye gaze and touch, he is accurately and consistently using photos to make choices.  He is also able to indicate "no".  We will be following-up with this at home.

He has also made big strides in feeding himself and drinking independently, as well as using the potty.  He is pretty amazing!

Bertrand will be participating in the Extended School Year program again this summer, so he doesn't have much of a break.  It's a good thing he loves school.  :)

Cousin Time & "Talking" Time

Nothing quite like some adorable kiddos playing together to make things seem right in the world again.  The first two videos are of Bertrand and his 5 month-old cousin Gabby playing together. The last video contains some of Bertrand's funny vocalizations; the panting in particular is new within the past month.
(Please ignore my silly mommy/auntie commentary.)

Communication Matrix Profile

The preceding communication matrix describes Bertrand's current communicative capabilities.  I loosely interpret the results as, "my son is a potential genius trapped in a body that won't do what he wants it to do."  You've got to admit, he sure works what he's got!  I am absolutely certain that if we can find a way to improve the condition of his nerves and muscles, we'll improve his communication.

Bertrand's new sounds

Bertrand started making some new vocalizations a few days ago.

We captured some on video:



One of his more interesting sounds starts around 25 seconds in, and he does it a couple times after that. He loves making that noise!