My baby will be 4!

   In a few days my 'baby' will be 4-years-old.  It is hard to imagine and yet easy to remember how little he used to be.  I have seen so much developmental growth in him the last few weeks.  I have seen him do many things I have never seen him do and it makes him seem more like a 'normal' kid.

    Normal.  That is the thing.  I think about the term 'typical development' often because the term is often used when conversation is about Miles... more like the fact that he does not have typical development compared to his peers.  I often wonder if his delay was not in speech and communication if his quirks and other things he does would go unnoticed.  Since communication is important to us as a human race it marks Miles as odd in a way.  Since he is now marked as such all parts of his development is followed closely as well.  I don't really mind since I know the monitors mean well and they want Miles to be the best Miles he can be.  I still wonder sometimes.

 My point is this:  Miles has some sensory needs.  His sensory needs are met by putting things in his mouth.  Because he has this need there is concern about oral sensory needs, Miles perhaps has Autism.  I as his mother do not see a problem with his sesory needs... as a child I liked to chew on my barbies and ponies and put the baby doll bottles in my mouth. I chewed on my pencils and pens and even ate my erasers.... but either no one noticed because I did not have 'problems' no one cared.  Miles likes to chew rubbery toys the best and I know sometimes his knows better because I appear and his takes a toy car tire out of his mouth and hands it to me like I caught him.  Avery also chews on things and no one seems to care. 

I spend a lot of time at the preschool in both boys' classes.  Avery is the oldest kid in his class of 15 students and Miles is the youngest of his class of 4.  The boys are 17 months apart and all but 1 of the children in both classes combined have their birthdays between my kids' birthdays.  All children are different, however I do find myself comparing children, and sometimes I am glad that Miles' problems are not like some of the other kids.  Sometimes it is also nice to see that Miles seems to be just like some of the other kids as well. 

Miles may not have a verbal conversation with me, but he is a better listener than Avery by far.  When Avery was 4 and he started walking away from me and I told him to come back to where I was, I would have to get 'angry' before he would come back.  I have to tell Miles once or twice and he comes back.  He does not listen when I tell him not to climb up on things... but to me that makes him a normal kid.  Miles is a good sharer, he will not take a toy from you, he will make a trade for a toy he wants, wait his turn, and give you a toy.  He is generally happy, curious, observer and friendly.

I would not ask for anything different.