The Good, The Bad, and The Downright Naughty

Liam has been making some really good progress lately. Overall, we’re pleased with him. Well, we’re mostly proud. I find myself having to overlook his poop art, constant need to be in the dishwasher, recurring urge to empty the dog dish all over the kitchen, and his questionable kitchen reorganizing skills. Oh! And I also have to ignore the fact that he insists on removing every stitch of clothing and roaming the house in the nude. Other than those few things, he’s doing pretty great.

Being the resident genius that I am, I have made a few interesting observations. First, I’ve noticed that he is definitely getting some benefit from his hearing aids. It’s clear that he is detecting sound and voice inflections. When he tries to imitate, though, his speech is muffled. I think he’s hearing things in a muffled way even with his hearing aids.

He has picked up the ability to sign really well. I usually only have to show him a sign for something one time and then he’s got it mastered. He also is always trying to vocalize when he speaks. The fact that he’s so dedicated, but still so muffled in his speech is what leads me to believe he’s hearing things funny. That may be all that will be needed to get him going on his cochlear implant. We shall see.

Liam is also developing a cute little sense of humor. Well, kind of cute but also kind of naughty. Mostly it’s just naughty. Let’s be honest here. He delights in walking up to Drezden casually and then taking the glasses right off his face while running and laughing maniacally. He also does this with CJ’s processor, tv remotes, sippy cups, and the occasional hotdog. He also thinks it’s completely hilarious to walk through the house and systematically dump things. Actually, the more I write this all out, the more I think he just has a lovely little naughty streak running through him rather than a sense of humor. And, since we’re talking about streaking, have I mentioned that he loves to be naked AND in the dishwasher at the same time? Oh. I did? Well, I’m mentioning it again, because it’s true. The little bugger is going to be the Grand Puba of some Deaf nudist colony someday.

So, those are my observations for today. Overall, things are going well. As we can all see, though, there is still plenty of room to make improvements.