Reading?

Today, I gave B a book to flip through which is something he enjoys. This was a new one - one my mom brought with her last week when they were here. I have never read it. So imagine my surprise when he started reading/reciting entire pages! "Move!" says Thomas. "Moo," says the cow. "No, no, no!" says Thomas. "Not moo. MOVE!"

He "read" about 5 pages and didn't skip a word.

Fascinating! I of course don't think he is actually reading (though I have heard of kids with autism reading before they are talking). I think he has memorized the book. What is interesting is that it can't have been read to him very many times. I'll have to check with the staff tomorrow. I think he just has an amazing memory. We have seen him pick up songs after listening just once or twice and he repeats phrases from shows (echolalia or repeating things out of context is another common part of Autism).  This weekend, he walked around saying "where are you?" and "I love you". Totally random sayings that he must have picked up from somewhere.  But this is a kid who doesn't typically use more than 1 word at a time.

Regardless, it was so cool and I can't wait to figure out how to expand on it. I've said it before but this kid is just bursting with potential and we are not going to stop until we tap into it.