Defying All the Odds

There's big news in the Bouton household! A couple of weeks ago Dallin started typing on his own, generating his own words! This is so exciting because I have spent the last several years teaching Dallin how to read and spell and put together sentences. It has been SUCH a hard, long process. It took me a long time to convince the school district that Dallin could read because he is so hard to assess as he won't perform when you want him to.

Last summer I started trying to teach Dallin how to type on his iPad. When Dallin wanted something I would take his finger and type out one word, showing him letter by letter.  We practiced every day for over a year, but he couldn't generate words on his own.

A couple of weeks ago, after dinner,  Dallin tried to drag me and show me what he wanted. This is the typical way he tells me what he wants but I pulled out his ipad. I asked him to type what he wanted and he typed, "B-A-T-H". I cried. Dallin loves baths, and I knew what he wanted before he typed it. This is the first time ever that Dallin typed a word that I didn't tell him to type, on his own.  It was- for us- a miracle. 

Since then, Dallin has been typing what he wants several times a day. It is so fun to get to know his personality by the little things he types. I wanted to share a few examples. You would be surprised how much you can tell about him in just a few words!

Example (1) Dallin has a mind of his own and he doesn't like to be told what to do. This week I asked him to type what he wanted. He typed "N-o." I laughed and said he needed to try and type what he wanted even if he didn't want to. So he typed, "You try". I can't help but laugh at his stubborn attitude. After a little more coaxing, he eventually typed what he wanted.

Example (2) Dallin knows what he wants. When Dallin doesn't want to do his school work I sometimes bribe him with food. This afternoon I was bribing him with chips. Every time he completed an activity I gave him one chip.  After a couple of tasks he tried to grab the bowl of chips from me. I asked him, "Isn't one chip enough? How many do you want?" He took his iPad and spelled "F-I-V-E". So I gave him five chips and he was totally happy. 

Example (3) Dallin loves chocolate. He came into the kitchen for breakfast and I asked him to type what he wanted to eat so he typed, "cookie". I told him I didn't have any cookies so he typed, "chocolate chip". I didn't give him a bowl of chocolate chips but I did give him one!

Here is my favorite: Dallin kept leaning all over me and I was getting frustrated. I pulled out his iPad and asked him, "Dallin, what do you want?!" He typed, Y-O-U. Then he hugged me, for a long time. And yes, there were tears shed. He is such a sweet, sweet, boy. I am so very happy to get these little glimpses into his mind and heart. I just had to share them with you.