One major step KiKi has made in the last year involves using an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) device. It's basically a tablet with a bunch of picture in different folders that speaks when he pushes a button. It's not used much in public, but great at home and in the car. Meaning he can ask for a drink without hitting and screaming to get his point across (most of the time).
It also means we can communicate with him, to ask basic questions or inform him of simple things, like where we're going next. A question goes something like this. I sign "where" (actually "what", but we're not going to to into the specifics on his version of sign language in this post), followed by selecting "clothing" then "jacket" on his AAC device. He looks at me, and I repeat this process a second time. He smiles, pushes "jacket", walks to his sisters' room doorway and waits. I follow and ask "where" again. He points to the top bunk bed, and waits for me to nod an "okay" for him to enter their room. Once he gets the nod, he goes in, climbs the ladder, fetches his jacket, gets down, and puts the jacket on.
The whole process takes about 8 minutes. Some times longer, if he doesn't want to find what he "misplaced". This same method works for finding shirts, socks and shoes. Yes, these things all have a place they belong. But, like most kids, he sometimes takes them off when he's not supposed to. And then he typically hides them to avoid getting in trouble.
Before his AAC device, this scenario took more like 30 minutes of sheer frustration and everyone else tearing apart the house to find whatever he had moved. Partly because we couldn't effectively communicate what we were looking for, and partly because he knew there was no way to hold him accountable for finding his own possession - he enjoyed watching us scamper like a game of hide and seek. Which is fine for a few minutes, but sucks when you have no way to say "I give up".
