"He already has a delayed language development, and if you don’t seriously exercise his language abilities, it will only get worse."
Doctor Huang’s tone was not harsh, but his expression made one involuntarily become serious.
"At home, if Zhouzhou wants something, or wants to do something, you must guide him to express it."
"I hope you can be more assertive. It’s not enough to let it pass when he doesn’t want to speak. Even if it involves crying or tantrums, you must get him to speak as much as possible."
"Of course, you don’t have to demand that he speaks in complete sentences before you help him achieve what he wants."
"You can progress gradually. If he wants something and he speaks up, whether clearly or not, you can give it to him, and then slowly guide him to say the whole sentence."
"In short, you can’t overindulge him, but while being assertive, you also have to pay attention to the degree of pressure. With Zhouzhou’s condition, it won’t all improve suddenly."
Ye Wanwan nodded, feeling somewhat anxious inside, worried about not being able to find the right balance.
"As far as I’m aware, Zhouzhou rarely interacts with other children. You can take him out more often to meet other kids."
"The thought processes of children and adults are different, just like most of our friends are of similar age."
"So letting Zhouzhou interact more with children of his age group is also a good approach."
Ye Wanwan nodded, already thinking about where to take Zhouzhou to meet other children his age.
Early childhood education centers? Or children’s parks?
At this time, Shen Yi raised another question, "Doctor Huang, Zhouzhou has another habit."
"What habit?" Doctor Huang asked.
Shen Yi said, "If he wants something and he can’t reach it himself, and we don’t help him, he’ll choose not to want it."
It wasn’t that they hadn’t tried to guide Zhouzhou to speak; it’s just that Zhouzhou’s personality was somewhat indescribable.
He wasn’t like other children who, if they wanted something and couldn’t get it, would cry and make a fuss. He would simply give up, as if it didn’t matter to him whether he got it or not.
Doctor Huang opened his mouth, and for a moment did not know what to say.
After seeing Doctor Huang, Shen Yi and Ye Wanwan each took one of Zhouzhou’s hands and walked out of the hospital.
Uncle Zhang drove up in the car, and Shen Yi picked Zhouzhou up. After Shen Yi and Zhouzhou got into the car, Ye Wanwan followed and sat down too.
"Sir, Madam, where to next?" Uncle Zhang asked, turning around.
Ye Wanwan said, "Go to the children’s restaurant we went to last time."
"All right." Uncle Zhang turned back and drove off.
On the way, Ye Wanwan said to Zhouzhou, "Last time we saw sharks, you really liked them, remember?"
When he heard "sharks," Zhouzhou looked at Ye Wanwan, clearly remembering.
"Do you still want to go see them?" Ye Wanwan asked.
Zhouzhou nodded vaguely.
Ye Wanwan coaxed him, "Say you want to, and then Mommy Liu will take you to see them, okay?"
Zhouzhou’s eyes, watery, were fixed on Ye Wanwan, but he did not speak, just quietly looking at her.
Ye Wanwan was also looking at Zhouzhou, the two of them gazing silently at each other.