MORE CONVERSATION

Recently Beignet has figured out how to request things that she wants. She will say, "Step up, cracker?" and that means that she is hungry. She is still in a collar and going to the feeding perch is difficult for her, so we always help her down. By learning how to let us know she is hungry, she is now eating more and hopefully gaining weight. She will ask, "Step up?" and that means she just wants some attention. I am careful to honor that, even if it is brief. If she changes the tone of her voice and volume, the same remark means she wants to play games.

Beignet also announces what she is doing such as eating, getting a drink or such.

A nightly practice of mine is singing a special song I made up for Beignet. We talk about what happened during the day and what will happen the next day. It is a way I have found to help Beignet feel assured about the happenings in our lives.

Recently I had to go by ambulance to the emergency room. By letting Beignet know what was happening before the medics came, she was able to be calm and assured about me leaving. I told the medics that she had a high IQ and that what was going on was frightening to her. After I came home we talked about it to her. I always ask if she understands and she indicated that she did. Using hand signals for words like understand has been very effective.

Beignet has also learned her body parts. She is very reluctant to have her wings, tail, belly, or feet touched, but she knows what they are. When trying to teach her the names of the parts I realized that nose would sound like "no's" to her, so we call it her nostril. I hold my finger up and ask her to show me the particular part I ask for. She is very correct in her answers. She now holds her foot up when I ask her where her toes are.

Her math skills are still impressive. She has learned the days of the week and I can ask her a question such as, "If I give you two seeds on Monday and Wednesday and Friday, how many seeds will you get?" and she always answers correctly. That means she understands the number, the word seeds, and the days of the week and how many are named. She is always surprising me with her intelligence. Her skills aren't strong in speaking, but her skills in understanding are phenomenal.