My son turned 2 last month and is not really talking. He says a few words once in a while but nothing super consistently - mostly just gibberish. We are doing all of the “right” things… he is in speech therapy once a week and I have monitored all of his social milestones since he first began to fall behind a year ago. Among some of his absent “progressions,” you could say, are that he’s never really imitated us through clapping or waving. (Just to be clear, all of this bothered me at one point but he has grown to be an effective communicator outside of speaking and his comprehension is very high, so I mostly have peace that he will catch up on his own time.)

This week, his sister (who is 10 months old next week) started clapping and waving. This has been very exciting for me, and apparently also for her brother, who decided now is a good time to start clapping and waving! I have waved at this boy as his dad has ascended the stairs with him to take him to bed every night for a year and he has never waved back at me… until this week, when he waved (with quite a bit of enthusiasm) two nights in a row.

First, what an incredible feeling to see your child make a progression that you have hoped you’d witness in him for such a long time. Second, no one can ever convince me that having my children 15 months apart has not been an entirely positive and beneficial experience for both of them. There are challenges, of course. But I believe I’m witnessing right now that children are meant to have siblings… that siblings help them even in ways we’d not anticipate. The pediatrician told me once that my daughter was likely to outpace my son in speech and she said it as though it was a warning. Frankly, I am ready for it! I can’t imagine anything will be more beneficial to him at this point than to develop in speech alongside his sister, whom he absolutely adores. What an incredible gift siblings are!