Santino easily adjusted back to his school routine after having been gone for a week during spring break. We settled in the classroom initially but went outside after he indicated through body language, eye movements, and vocalizations that he wished to start the day off outdoors. I used his communication book to indicate the 4 activities planned, and the order in which we would engage in them. Santino started out outdoors by pulling the rope tie that had been attached over the picnic table. As he pulled it, I repeated the word 'pull' with each tug. I repeated the word 'rope,' as well, to help him associate it with its word equivalent. While Santino did not say the word, he did look at the rope with his eyes whenever I said it. After we moved indoors, we continued pairing words with objects during puzzle assembly and story time. Santino repeated the 'oink' sound that a pig makes as he followed a story. He did the same with the 'meow' sound made by kttens make as he listened to the song, "Ten More Kittens Jumping on the Bed." These exercises familiarize Santino with speech, language, and phonetics, and he is verbally rewarded and given high fives when he either repeats a word, uses a word to indicate a want, or delivers/approximates a speech feature such as stress, tone, or word juncture that accompanies the speech to which he’s been exposed. Santino finished the session by gesturing that he wanted a drink, but he did not drink the PediaSure out of a cup, even when afforded assistance. He brought the cup to his lips on one occasion, but he did not tip it enough to allow the fluid to enter his mouth. We will resume practicing drinking from a cup or water bottle in the ensuing weeks.