NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

I recently started working with a group of nonverbal two-year-olds. You might think they’d have a difficult time communicating but you’d be wrong. Some of them are very skilled at using sign language or other nonverbal forms of communication. One of these little ones went down our toddler slide and landed hard on her well-padded, diapered bottom. With tears in her eyes, she ran to me for a hug. Then she puckered her lips, smacked them into a kiss, and pointed to her bottom. Her communication was quite clear but it would have held an entirely different meaning if she had been twenty-two instead of an innocent two-year-old!

Animals can also use nonverbal forms to communicate with us. Take a look at this raccoon – I’d say he is checking out our cat’s bed and considering the cushy life of our cat. 

This young fox has taken it a step further; he pulled the bed and cushion down and decided to give the cat’s life a go! 

 

Hoping we'll fill the catfood dish!

You may have noticed I haven’t been posting for a while and you might have taken that to mean I’ve grown tired of blogging. In this case, you’d have misinterpreted my nonverbal communication! I haven’t had much time for blogging lately because I entered into new business partnership with two other speech therapists. We plan to bring more children’s literature into the therapy room through our new educational products. I hope you’ll drop on by our website and say hello on our blog! https://www.speechfixslp.com

PAX and Our Foxy Friend

Over the summer, I read a variety of books for children and one I especially enjoyed was a middle grade novel by Sara Pennypacker – Pax.

In this story, twelve-year-old Peter is forced to abandon the fox he had rescued as a kit. After five years together, they are inseparable but war is raging and the front line is approaching their home. His father joins the military and sends Peter off to live with his grandfather, three hundred miles away. As they drive off, they leave Pax behind, on the side of the road.

Once Peter arrives at his grandfather's house, he realizes he should have stood his ground and insisted on bringing Pax with him. Instead, Pax is left behind to face the dangers of war and the wild. Peter sneaks off at night and strikes out on his own to travel the 300 miles back to his fox. Pax faces challenges of his own, learning to survive in the wild but he never loses hope that Peter will return.

It was heartbreaking to read of Peter’s reaction to leaving Pax, but it was even more so, to read Pax’s thoughts.  The author tells the story from alternating points of view and her depiction of Pax’s perspective seems totally believable. She researched fox behavior and wove that into the story beautifully. This book made me feel I could understand a fox’s thinking.

It also increased compassion. Perhaps that’s why I had no complaints when I discovered who has been stealing our cat’s food.