Lately, Josiah has been wanting milk.  Lots and lots of milk.  It seems he can’t get enough of it. He doesn’t use his ipad to request it.  He doesn’t drag me to the kitchen and throw my hand at the refrigerator.  He doesn’t even sign ‘milk’, like he used to many years ago.

Nope.  He’s more direct than that. He opens the refrigerator, yanks the jug from inside the refrigerator door and brings it to me, no matter where I am and no matter how full the gallon container happens to be.

The other day Chandler, Josiah and I were in my room.  Josiah walked away and returned with the milk.  I smiled, directed him back to the kitchen and gave him a glass of milk.  He drank a large amount. I went back to my room, assuming he was following me.  He wasn’t.

A few minutes later, he returned with the gallon jug in his hands once again. We repeated the trek to the kitchen for more milk.  I filled the cup and kept offering it to Josiah until he wanted no more. Back in my room, Josiah joyfully brought me the milk a 3rd time.

Buddy, you are not thirsty I said.  You just drank a lot of milk.  Here, let me put that back. The milk went back in the refrigerator and I went back to be with Chandler. In a matter of minutes, Josiah joined us, but this time he wasn’t carrying milk.  He had a large carton of Greek yogurt in his hands.

Chandler and I giggled as it became clear what the boy was trying to tell me. He wasn’t thirsty.  He was hungry.  He just didn’t know how to tell me. He could have signed ‘eat’ which is what he used to do, or dragged me to the kitchen and thrown my hand at the cabinet, like he’s done many other times.  He could have used his ipad.

Instead, he gave me clues.

I’m glad I didn’t miss it.  I’m glad Josiah was persistent.  I’m glad he was clever enough to figure out how to get his message across.  He didn’t want Greek yogurt.   He simply wanted SOMETHING to eat.  I helped him navigate through his communication app to tell me what that was.  I want meatballs he said.

We have got to help Josiah learn a better way to express himself.  Last night, Rick found a gallon of milk sitting all by itself in Josiah’s empty bed.