M is for Maya

How. freaking. cool. is. that. 

!?!?!?!

Her OT mentioned a weekish ago that maybe we should start exposing her to letters, since she can be pretty visually attentive (when she's in the mood).  So I started doodling M's here and there.  Yesterday, when the OT did an art project with her, they made a big M with markers and I hung it on the door. 

This morning during breakfast we were drawing on the high chair tray (with crayons--super fun and they wipe right up) and when I drew an M Maya turned in her chair to point at the M drawing on the door.  I thought to myself, "Does she really know M already?" and then I grabbed my phone (for video) and cut a few index cards and tried it out.  AMAZING :)

I feel the need to issue the disclaimer that I am not a general fan of pushing kids to learn letter recognition, etc before school starts----but I think if the child is interested, why not.  More importantly, for a nonverbal child, learning letters and words is huge.  It's just a happy glimpse into the future, a reassuring nugget tucked in my back pocket  . . . if spoken words take many years to come, it's ok, because recognizing words and tapping them out will be coming too, possibly sooner. 

Recognizing M is, for me, a gentle, reassuring reminder that she will understand (more) and be (more) understood with every passing day.