Isaac's 16 years old, and I've never seen him greet his twin brother with a hello AND a wave. I know he's been working on it at school, but these things don't always transfer to the home environment. If left to his own devices, Isaac wouldn't greet anyone. Because he's been prompted to say hello to people at school, he's greeting and waving a little more regularly these days.
I opened Isaac's backpack, grabbed the communication book, and scribbled a note for Isaac's teacher:
He was very happy when he came home and said "Hi Noah!" and waved.
The next day when Isaac came home from school, his teacher had responded:
Hooray for appropriate social interactions!
"Isaac, you remember Connie, right?" I asked.
I waited for him to greet her and wave.
He looked in Connie's direction, a concerned look spread across his face, and he took off around the corner to fill the cart with items from aisle two.
"Don't take it personally," I told her. "He does this to everyone he meets here. He acts like he doesn't know people he has known in other settings."
"He probably thinks I should be at school," she said. We visited for a minute, but Isaac remained halfway down aisle two, adding a can of pears to our cart.
**
This afternoon Isaac stood near the pantry and fumbled with a box of food he had gotten as a birthday gift.
"What are you eating?" I asked.
He didn't respond even though I was certain he had heard me.
"What are you eating?" I asked again, more playfully when I saw he had opened a box of strawberry Pop Tarts.
"Hi!" he said, as he waved, flashed me a smile, and giggled. He must have been waving both goodbye and hello, I guess, because he fled to the basement while carrying his strawberry Pop Tart.
**
Tonight after dinner I was standing at the kitchen sink scrubbing dishes when Isaac walked up beside me and said, "Cold." He reached for the faucet.
"No, stop messing around with the water. Don't change it to cold, buddy. I need it to be hot." It's a game he wants to play often.
"Warm," he said, laughing. "Cold."
"Hot!" I said.
I turned my head and looked at Isaac. I maneuvered the faucet handle so the hot water began to flow. Bubbles danced around the sink. He grinned from ear to ear and said the word he knew he should say in this situation.
"Hi," he said clearly. He laughed.
Then he was gone.