Junie

One of our younger helpers quickly picked up on Casey's love of books.

We have reported in the past about Casey's great generalization abilities. All letters were "C" and all numbers were "2" for awhile, although he has expanded his vocab in these areas very well. Currently, most colors are "geen" even though he knows red and blue too.
But I think our favorite new generalization is "Junie". A by-product of our current situation where Casey has had many different play mates and caretakers. Many of the folks who have helped us avoid having him and I home alone for long are stay at home moms with older kids who are at school. They come over and play with Casey while I lay on the couch. It has worked well because he can see me and interact with me while we have someone there who can chase and play outside. One of the first was our friend Julie from church. She introduced herself to Casey and tried a few times to get him to say "Julie". Not a chance. But he took to her quickly and enjoyed her time here. After she left he stood by the door, saying "Junie!" I just thought it was too bad she didn't get to hear him try to say her name. But the next person that came a few days later was greeted by Casey with "Junie!" Not the same person, but I could see how he might think it was. Well, many caretakers later, it seems Junie has become a generic term for "lady here to play with me". I can hear him yelling it in the yard, using it in greetings and goodbyes and my favorite, standing outside the bathroom waiting for "Junie" to come out and get back to playing.
There is something very sweet about it; trusting that all these women are going to take good care of him; Accepting the idea that people are in and out of our house a lot right now. I'm not explaining it very well, but its just really neat. When we tell Casey and his brother about this time in our life, I believe the Junies will be a favorite part of the story.