My daughter was nonverbal until she was 4. She would occasionally make sounds similar to words. One day I was home from work on lunch break, I worked 5 minutes away and would come home for lunch to save money.
I was leaving to head back to work, kissed my wife and then my daughter who was sitting in a high chair also having lunch. I told her "bye, I love you!".
She replied with a crystal clear perfect "I love you" back.
The reaction from my wife and I was similar to this mom. Hearing her speak at all, let alone telling me she loves me, is one of my strongest memories now. I remember it often and this video brought back all the emotions.
Thank you for asking. She is 9 now. The "I love you" moment happened shortly before we finally got her into a speech and occupational therapist who worked with her for 2 years.
She's still behind a bit but is so amazing. She's in 3rd grade, and although still requires assistance and is slower than her classmates, she's reading at the proper level and doing pretty well in most academic areas. She still struggles in some areas, and definitely with some non-academic things.
She's so awesome. Last Friday she had surgery on both eyes, to correct what is called a strabismus. Watching her be so scared but so brave was awe inspiring. She understands the world in her own way. She expresses herself in her own way. And I am so damn privileged to be her dad.
She has an older sister (14) who is equally as amazing. She is not on the spectrum, but her empathy with her sister and others in the world is awesome to watch. They've never fought. They don't argue and bicker. She is so patient and understanding and caring.
I sort of went on a tangent there...I apologize. Thank you for taking the time to ask!
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u/mistiry 16d ago
My daughter was nonverbal until she was 4. She would occasionally make sounds similar to words. One day I was home from work on lunch break, I worked 5 minutes away and would come home for lunch to save money.
I was leaving to head back to work, kissed my wife and then my daughter who was sitting in a high chair also having lunch. I told her "bye, I love you!".
She replied with a crystal clear perfect "I love you" back.
The reaction from my wife and I was similar to this mom. Hearing her speak at all, let alone telling me she loves me, is one of my strongest memories now. I remember it often and this video brought back all the emotions.