During the pandemic we turned Friday night into “take out food night” at our house, alternating food choices based on the restaurant of the week . Friday night take out never ended with the pandemic and continues to be a looked forward to tradition. Each week I make my best guess on what Micah might like, based in part on what he has for lunch that day. On the Fridays that we opt to have subs, I have always ordered a large Italian sub for Micah as I guessed that would be his top choice. Almost always, he has eaten the full sub quickly so I thought I had nailed his choice.
Fast forward to Micah’s S2C (Spelling to Communicate) session with Beth a couple weeks ago. Micah generally attends his sessions with Beth at 11:00, then Melody, Micah, and I head out for lunch on the way back home. On impulse, we decided to ask Beth to ask Micah if he wanted pizza or subs for lunch when the session was almost over. Beth asked Micah and he spelled out the word “sandwich” . Then I asked Beth to ask him if he wanted an Italian or a turkey sandwich just to confirm that he likes Italian subs the best. Micah poked the T then the U and I was thinking, yikes he prefers turkey….but then he hit the N and the A. TUNA!! His first semi-open response that was a total surprise to all of us.
With that choice noted, we went out and ordered him a tuna sub, hoping to verify that he indeed really did want tuna. The answer was a resounding YES as he wolfed it down. The poor guy was probably thinking he has been waiting for years to get this request fulfilled. The reality is I have made him many tuna fish sandwiches at home, but would never have considered it as a choice as a take out option. S2C made it possible for him to finally make his choice clear. Micah is what is called an “unreliable speaker”, thus when he does speak, what he says does not always reflect what he means. For example when asked what he wants for his choice of food he always says “french fries”. This automatic response is what is called a loop, a response that he can’t seem to move from. The beauty of S2C is that it is helping us learn what he really wants for the first time. Spelling out the word tuna was a huge breakthrough for Micah as he finally was able to ask for something that he clearly wanted, but we had no clue. Another step towards openness; a huge step towards helping him feel heard at last. Tuna… such a simple word that hold so much promise. We hold it as we eagerly await Micah’s next surprise request.
Jan Lessard Peightell September 17, 2024