Yes No

Sophie has been working with and playing with her iPad for nearly a year, now, and the going is rough and inconsistent, but there are times when it all bursts forth, when those neurons connect and don't spark or combust but rather hum with illumination. Yesterday was one of those days when Sophie got home from school and collapsed onto her bed, pulling her legs up under her Indian-style. Oliver lay across the foot of the bed with all his papers from his first day of school, chattering to me about what he did and what they were going to be doing. When he stopped talking for a moment I wondered aloud what Sophie's day might have been like and then got up to get her iPad to find out. Sometimes, when her aide remembers to, she'll record Sophie's "day" into the iPad so that Sophie can "tell" me. Yesterday, probably because of the chaos of the first day, she did not, so I went to the YES NO screen.

Basically, this is a screen with two boxes, one green and the other red, that say YES and NO. When you swipe or tap the YES, you hear yes, and when you swipe or tap the NO, you hear no.


Got it?


YES       NO


And can I tell you that we had a real conversation yesterday? It was a conversation that inspired Oliver to stop chattering, look over at us in utter amazement and yell, 


Sophie, you're on fire!


Here's a bit of it:


Me: Sophie, did you have a good day at school today?


Sophie: Yes

Me: Did you see your friends?

Sophie: Yes

Me: Was it hot today?

Sophie: Yes

Me: Is Henry in the room right now?

Sophie: No

This is when Oliver looked up.

Me: Is Oliver in the room right now?

Sophie: Yes

Me: Is Valentine a cat?

Sophie: No

Oliver is sitting up now, his eyes as round as saucers.

Me: Are you smart, Sophie?

Sophie: Yes 


Sophie, you're on fire!