If there is one thing Eli is really good at, it’s imaginative play. He sees fun and adventure in anything. You see stuffed animals, Eli sees a villainous bear who fights a helpless monkey, give him a play kitchen and he becomes a five star chef. He loves building forts, playing hot lava, and pretending he’s stuck or hurt just so he can be rescued. As I type this he’s in the occupational therapy waiting room playing with a road map rug. He puts his stuffed Ryder toy on a caution sign on the rug and makes him catapult into the sky yelling “AHHHHHHH!” Then he walks him to a parking lot and pretends it’s a restaurant and says “YUMMY! Nom nom nom”When Eli is in imagination mode I can see how much he knows and is learning; things that I haven’t even taught him. I heard once that kids are like sponges, they absorb everything they see and hear. Eli learns things from his family, daycare, teachers, therapists, movies, everything!
Yesterday we were playing this dumb game on his iPad called plants vs zombies (I mean really?) but he likes it. These zombies try to walk to your house and the plants stop them. After playing for a while, Eli started walking around the house hunched over with loose arms, pretending to be a zombie. Other things are more productive like watching old McDonald songs on YouTube and learning all of his animal sounds. Watching his therapist perform a task and he copies.
Kids are amazing learners, even those with delays or disabilities. Eli has come SO FAR in the few months he has been in ABA, speech, and occupational therapies. It is so amazing to see how quickly he is picking up on everything. It gives me very high hopes for him.
Mastering Motherhood 