"Beebeebee Boo"

As I've mentioned before, Leo's speech can be challenging to understand. And the older he gets, the more frustrated he becomes with his inability to get his point across. Of course, who can blame him?

This morning's frustration?

"Beebeebee Boo"

Whaaaa?

"No Mommy! You know it! Beebeebee Boo!"

There I was, trying to do twelve things at once as I'm apt to in the hour before Leo's bus comes, when the babies are taking their early morning nap (and I feel the clock ticking to get things done while I have the chance): throw a load in the wash, get the dishes into the dishwasher, make the kids breakfasts, Leo's lunch, take out the trash and recycling.

Meanwhile, poor Leo is shouting at me, doing his best to act out "Beebeebee Boo," increasingly furious that I am not comprehending him.

I admit it, I get mad when this happens. Not mad at Leo, of course. Mad at the situation. And yes, mad at Down syndrome. It should not be this hard. Poor guy just wants to tell me something. It shouldn't be this frustrating for me, to get it and it shouldn't be this frustrating for him to simply, you know, communicate. We should just be a mom and seven year old boy having a simple conversation in a kitchen about what the seven year old boy wants/needs. Sure I might get annoyed that he needs something when I'm in the middle of so many tasks, but there wouldn't be that added layer of What On Earth Is He Even Saying?

Finally, hitting the wall and knowing I would not get it at this rate, I fell back on my old stand-by:"Draw a picture of it Leo. Draw a picture of what you want so Mommy can understand it."

Leo threw his head back in irritation but complied, disappearing to the living room to begin his work on the large drawing pad on the coffee table.

He returned with a drawing. A sweet little drawing, which I stared at it, blankly. Still nothing. Ugh.

"Write it Leo. Write the words," I urged.

He stomped back to the living room to write something on the paper, then returned to me.

And so I present to you:

DVD Book.

Of course.

"Beebeebee Boo" was "DVD Book." Leo was referencing the "book": (CD/DVD album) where we keep all the kid DVDs. One of Leo's favorite things to do is go downstairs to the basement playroom and put in his DVD of choice. This morning he wanted to eat his breakfast down there and watch a DVD. Why not? It's Friday, after all.

Look at it. It's perfect. The rectangle is the book. Colored in, because the book is black. The circle is the DVD, complete with a little character on it (he did, after all, end up picking an Elmo DVD).


The only good thing that comes out of these incredibly exasperating "what is Leo saying" exchanges is that when we do finally figure out what he's saying? It's like Christmas morning. Very, very exciting. And we all celebrate.