is pointing good progress

[suzanneiom1]

hi all most probably have read my other posts, my son seems to be making good progress in all areas apart from his speech, he is 2 nxt month and we are seeing pead on thursday for the first time, so very nervous, just wanted to ask my son has started to point now which is brill, he points to things of interest, when things are close to him he points with the finger he is ment to, but most of the time he points with his hole hand and sometimes flaps it in an out, he does this if we are round the shop and he is interested in something, he does it with photos on our wall of him his brother and us, things like that, does this sound like good progress, or does it not count because its not always with his finger. He isnt flapping as much either which is good too

[KezT]

pointing at things shows an awareness of his environment and his ability to change it, so yes it is good progress regardless of how he points:)

 

My DS is 11 now and stil hasn't managed to point at anything, and only reembers to look at what others point to if he is very calm and very interested LOL

 

 

as an aside, DS2 is 20 mths now and stll not talking hardly at all (maybe 5 sounds that could be taken for words if you know him very well), but I am happy that he is developing normally, if a bit behind in speach:)

[suzanneiom1]

thanks for you reply, im was hoping someone would agree and say it was good progress, im just abit worried when we have our appointment they were going to turn around and say it doesnt really count, i thought this because he does it differently its not always a good sign is it..

[darkshine]

Progress is progress if he wasn't doing it before - the fact he's learned to show you what he wants/likes has to be good - now to see what he can do next

[Tally]

Pointing is a way of communicating things you want or are interested in. It doesn't make any difference whether he's doing it "right" if he's getting his point across. It sounds like progress to me.

[oxgirl]

Yes, I agree, it is good progress. He is 'talking' to you, communicating to you and wanting to share something with you.

 

My lad was 18 last week. He is able in lots of ways, verbal, etc. I took him to London Zoo a couple of weeks ago, he really loves birds. We were in the bird enclosure, he was very excited and suddenly he shouted, 'look at that' and pointed at a bird hiding in the trees, extending his whole arm and pointing right at the bird. I was startled and suddenly realized that that was the first time I had ever seen him point to something! It was a very strange feeling!

 

I had wanted to post this up, so thanks for giving me the excuse to.

 

~ Mel ~

[darkshine]

That's cool

 

All this talking about pointing makes me remember something - when I was a kid, people often used to point things out to me (like animals or things in the distance) and I always found it difficult to see what they were pointing at (still do now actually but have gotten better at either pretending I see it or being honest and asking for further details at what they are referring to).

 

Its funny though cuz these days I tend not to point - unless I forget myself and then I probably look like an idiot because I do it like a kid going ooh ooh look at that, and its usually at the most inappropriate time/place that and I forget to be quiet and discrete - which is why I spend so much effort trying to remember not to point (or stare for that matter) but I forget about that too sometimes

[oxgirl]

All this talking about pointing makes me remember something - when I was a kid, people often used to point things out to me (like animals or things in the distance) and I always found it difficult to see what they were pointing at (still do now actually but have gotten better at either pretending I see it or being honest and asking for further details at what they are referring to).

 

If I was pointing out something for my lad, I would have to extend my arm and then hold his head up against my arm and turn his head in the direction I was pointing or he couldn't follow it. He would also quite often not move his eyes in the right direction, so even if I held his head and pointed his head to the thing I was pointing out, his eyes would be looking somewhere else!

 

~ Mel ~

[darkshine]

If I was pointing out something for my lad, I would have to extend my arm and then hold his head up against my arm and turn his head in the direction I was pointing or he couldn't follow it. He would also quite often not move his eyes in the right direction, so even if I held his head and pointed his head to the thing I was pointing out, his eyes would be looking somewhere else!

 

~ Mel ~

Good technique

 

I guess the problem is that there is such a huge area within the visual field that even when pointing, the margin of error can be huge (unless the thing being pointed at is absolutely massive and really really obvious)

 

There was something in one of my study books about pointing - it said something about how our intentions and things, go beyond our body, so when we point, something happens in other peoples brains to be aware that the thing being pointed at is in the direction indicated - otherwise we'd all just stare at the finger of the person pointing... it was part of something more complicated and since I've done such a bad job of explaining that much, I'll leave it there

 

But what I mean by it - is that there are other elements needed to be able to successfully see what someone else is pointing at - like explanation - and sometimes there isn't always time to explain

[RainbowsButterflies]

My two really don't seem to understand when you point at something.

[darkshine]

Maybe its something that develops (slowly in my case) but I don't worry about it because pointing is supposed to be rude anyway

[RainbowsButterflies]

LOL it's not good when you want them to get something though. 'It's over there' 'Where?' 'On the sofa. Look at where I'm pointing!'

[darkshine]

I know I bet they'll get there eventually - maybe there's something in that theory I was so badly describing...

[dekra]

LOL it's not good when you want them to get something though. 'It's over there' 'Where?' 'On the sofa. Look at where I'm pointing!'

 

I have the same problem, Finn will point to things now although he was very late starting to do so but his recognition of me pointing at something is extremely limited. Sending him to get something that's only a few feet away (prime example is the baby wipes when I'm in middle of changing a stinky nappy - why do I not get these things BEFORE I open it up?) is often a mutually frustrating exercise. Pointing at something and asking "What's that Finn?" generally ends up in him telling me something else that is closer e.g I point to a bus (he loves buses) but he has a glove in his hand so if I ask "What's that?" and point at the bus he'll look at the glove in his hand and tell me it's a glove. Telling him no it's a bus look just confused him as he know's it's a glove he's holding.