Language Skills and RAD

I just read Essie over at The Accidental Mommy (http://theaccidentalmommy.blogspot.com/) and she brought up something a lot of parents don't know about RAD-ish kiddos. Heck, I wasn't even aware of the extent that my kids talking issues were really attention ploys.

I will explain what my two little guys do. One 'stutters' all the time. He will start by yelling 'Mommy'. He literally says Mommy hundreds of times a day. Impossible you think? I would have thought so too if he hadn't just said Mommy 5 times while I typed this sentence. Then if I say What, he says, I...I...I....I... and then stops. I wait a few seconds and he says Mommy again. If I say what he says, It's.....it's....it's...... This will happen over and over again. Sometimes he gets a few words out and then gets stuck. It is downright painful to try and understand what he is trying to say. I think most of the time he doesn't even KNOW what he wants to say, he just wants my attention. It is annoying, grates on my nerves and makes me want to scream SHUT UP......but I don't. (Oh yeah, I feel guilt for being so annoyed, but then I also realize that he gets a win if I get annoyed. He got the reaction he wanted. So I try and shrug it off and never let him see if it does get to me)

Both boys are horrible about asking the same question over and over and over again. And asking non-sense questions. Is this my cup? Is it today? Can I blu-blah-dah goo? Oh, yeah, the baby talk. I refuse to answer baby talk. I tell them I do not speak it and will not listen to it. That usually stops it for a little while. I will also not answer to a whine. I have gone so far as to stick my fingers in my ears and sing 'Lalalalalalalalal I can't hear you' when they whine or baby talk. That usually makes them smile and stop for a while.

The other little guy has volume issues. When we are inside and he is 12 inches away from me he has his volume ALL the way up. he has a screechy high pitched voice that can cut through titanium. He literally blasts my ears and gives me a headache! Then, when we are somewhere else he whispers and mumbles. This is the worst in the car. His carseat is in the third row, there are road sounds and engine noises and he WHISPERS. Of course I can always hear the cry of Mommy, but never what comes after it. Lately I have been turning on the radio and telling them I cannot listen to them in the car while the radio is on. That has stopped most of this. This little one is also the worst at the baby talk right now. He was at full tilt when my in-laws were here. He would climb in Grandma's lap, waller all over her and talk baby talk nonsense. Poor woman, he about wore her to death! Thank goodness she is so wonderful. She handled it like a champ.

We had both boys tested by the school district for speech interventions. Guess what? They both scored high-normal. They didn't do any of these things while being tested. That tells me a ton. One: it's elective patterns and not uncontrollable and Two: it's all for me baby! Gotta save all the attention seeking behaviors for those closest to them. I feel so loved.....