For as curious and intelligent Luke appears to be, I can't get him to say a word. He can stack impressive block towers, climb up furniture twice his size, and follow multi-step intrusctions, but he will not use words.
I'm not concerned about this yet. He understands language, and knows what everything is called. He simply has been developing motor skills exclusively without much thought to speech. Beyond "Ba, Da, Na, Ma, and his new sound 'Tsk', he whines and points to get what he wants.
Because of this I've attempted to teach Luke some Baby Sign Language. I've successfully taught him what I've found essential to get through the day: "please, thank you, all done." I'm planning on teaching him more as the need arises.
Signing is a great idea. Here's the problem. The first time your child signs for "please" without being asked, for reinforcement you're likely to give him whatever he's asking for. When they get what they want, they'll quickly sign "please" again. This creates a whole new conflict when they are signing for strawberry twizzlers. Yes, I gave Luke one, and then another. After dinner he signed for them again and got one, and then another.
This is dangerous.
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