They Might Be Curly Giants!

While the two brothers are alike in many ways, Ajab and Ayeed are two very different individuals, their ages not withstanding. Both are young kids who are still learning about the world around them and discovering new things to do (or break) daily. They both like reading and watching TV and whoop with joy when they see a truck rumble by on the road.

Their differences are apparent when one takes the time to study them together. In terms of their characters, Ajab is more laid-back, prefers to sit quietly (when he does decide to sit still!) sucking his thumb, is less vociferous, less demanding, more independent and less clingy than his brother, Ayeed. The younger sibling is constantly on the move, constantly seeks out someone to play with or bully (ie. his brother), is more vocal, and the bane of us as parents, insists on being accompanied to sleep every night.

In terms of language skills, it is noticeable how much easier it is for Ayeed to say something. His vocabulary, though limited to “hi”, “bye”, “loyee” (for lorry), “tuck” (for truck) and “mum-mum” (for food, drinks, hairballs and anything he can justify in his little mind as edible), seems vastly superior to his brother’s. When Ajab was Ayeed’s age, the only thing (I wouldn’t call it a word) that he could utter was “tah” (for car). He still does the “tah” thing but has advanced the pronunciation to something resembling “ennnntaaaahh”, complete with the same facial expression similar to holding one’s breath, teeth showing, eyes wide, each and every time.

Ajab didn’t even know how to point to an object properly with his index finger extended until he was nearly two. Nor is he able to wave goodbye AND say “bye”, preferring instead to move his hand up and down and say “aaaiii” instead, so we often mistake it to mean “hi”. Maybe in his mind both “hi” and “bye” mean the same things.

Pronunciation of words is a problem for Ajab. His vocabulary is actually vast, I suspect, because he understands a lot of what we say or instruct him to do, but when it comes to vocalizing those words, it comes out all wrong and we hear gibberish instead. Hearing gibberish translates into frustration for all concerned because no one can quite figure out what he wants. That’s where simple gestures come in. A point or a tap on the desired object will suffice for now.

We hope those differences will be bridged after Ajab’s gone through his therapy sessions which starts this month. About 6 sessions coming up in the next two months. It will be tiring. I’m bracing myself.