When I hear the word “communication,” I’ve always thought about language, words, and facial expressions. It’s been an interesting experience for me to see our son George grow up with a very limited capacity to do any of these things. He doesn’t talk, he doesn’t understand when you talk to him, and it’s rare that you get him to even look at you in the eyes. But the past two weeks brought an interesting development in George’s ability to communicate in a most special way that touched and impressed me greatly.
George ‘s little hands are some of the dearest and most precious hands that I have known. If you have ever held a tiny infant in your arms and felt their tiny hand grasp a finger of yours, you know how it feels to come up to George and have him touch your face or let you gently stroke the palm of his hand.
He will often hold one arm out as far in front of him as he can, as if trying to grasp some distant object with his hand, then slightly turn his head and carefully observe. I’m not sure what he sees, but it must be something glorious. When he sees a colorful fabric that he wants to investigate, he will reach out and lightly brush his hand over it before bringing it to his face to do the same. These are some of the ways George observes and connects with the world around him. But George has learned a new way to interact with his environment and to communicate his desires.
Recently George has begun to grab Rachel’s or my hand and pull or push them into the direction of something he wants us to do. He’ll take Rachel’s hand to the piano so she can play him one of his favorite tunes (of which he has only two or three!). He’ll pull our hands to the television and push them in the direction of the power button. He’ll pull us by the hand to his toys so that we can use our hands to help him play with them. It has been exciting to me and Rachel to see George recognize that hands other than his own can do things for him.
After George started doing this, I began to think about my own hands, and the different things I use them for each day. Our hands truly are a reflection of who we are and what we value in life. I hope that my hands will always be like George’s little hands – soft and gentle, curious and observant, hands full of love.