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Janice M. Wright, Clinical Supervisor

I worked for a number of years as a home-based speech pathologist for an Early Intervention program in Ohio. On any given day I traveled from large, expansive homes to three room apartments, housing seven people. On this particular day I was visiting a family with six children ages 6 to 1. I was working with the 3 year old who had a severe language disorder. I had been considering an AAC device because although she appeared to have excellent receptive skills, she was non-verbal. The mother had arranged the living room furniture in a circle so that we could keep the child in the room with us. The other children wandered in and out of the corral as we worked. Suddenly I realized that the Mom and the child were the only other people in the room and it was strangely quiet. As I asked, "Where are the other kids?", Mom leaped over the furniture and I quickly followed not knowing what to expect. As we ran into the kitchen we saw all five children with the 6 year old holding the one year old, standing at the window. The group parted as we entered and we saw a package of hamburger meat on the counter. The children had been occupying their time and that of the dog by making meatballs and throwing them out of the window. The three year old who up until this point had been silent, pointed at the eldest boy and loudly said "ba bo". At that moment, I realized that all the toys in the world were not as motivating as being able to chastise an older sibling. Talk about functional communication.