Slam dunk

The Tank and I are participating in a speech therapy class called the Hanen Program. It's pretty intense for 7 weeks but I've already seen a difference in how we communicate with Caden and how he responds. It seems to be more of a behavior modification for the parents than an actual therapeutic method for the child. Last night, for instance, we went to the instructor's office and she videotaped us interacting with Caden. Then we reviewed the tape and were given suggestions to enhance our communicating styles. A little intimidating but definitely worthwhile.

However the most important part of the visit for us had nothing to do with speech but rather basketball. There was a small basketball net mounted high on one wall and Caden was pointing to it. There were tons of other toys to play with but he kept coming back to the net. At one point he indicated that he wanted us to open a clear Tupperware bin filled with toys and he immediately pulled out the one item that he desired: a soft orange basketball. As far as I know, Caden has never seen a basketball game much less a net or the ball to know they go together. I was going to consider it a coincidence until he started signing "up" because he wanted us to lift him so he could toss the ball into the net. I was floored. How could he know to do that? Is this something inherent in the male DNA? Seriously. What is up with that? The only thing I'm coming up with is that my child is obviously an athletic prodigy. The Tank couldn't wait to get home and call up family and friends to declare that Caden could be the next Larry Bird. So much for the Hanen Program.