Lily has had a major breakthrough with her Tobii in the past few weeks. She’s communicating through it – telling us what she likes, wants, needs. And I can’t begin to explain how much it means to get a glimpse into this sweet, silly, smart girl’s mind.

Today she told me (after we got home from a birthday party):

• We made a ‘card’ (for Stella, the birthday girl)
• We gave a ‘present’ to Stella
• We got a ‘present’ too (2 necklaces and a magic wand) and it made her ‘happy’
• She said she wanted to ‘rest’ ‘tonight’ (after I asked if she wanted to go to the other birthday party)
• She also told me she wanted ‘Grandma’ and Marina (her ‘cousin/sister’ – she now uses these two pictures interchangeably) to ‘take’ her to ‘school’

These things likely seem inane for a parent of a neuro-typical child. But to me, it’s magic. Being able to have a conversation with my supposedly nonverbal, potentially cognitively impaired child (according to typical Rett literature) is amazing.

Speaking of nonverbal… Lily has gotten really good at using the word ‘no’. As in, ‘give Grandma a kiss!’, asks Grandma.  And then Lily gives an emphatic ‘No!’ Also she dropped the f-bomb yesterday. I must clean up my potty mouth ASAP.

Here Lily, wearing her fancy new necklaces, is asking to watch a ‘TV show’ ‘Elmo’. So Elmo it is!