Little B receives regular visits from a speech therapist. This means that he regularly receives homework in that department and the latest development is that he must learn the art of conversation.
"I don't understand how to help him," admitted Simone.
"Here," the speech therapist helpfully provided Simone with an envelope filled with images. "What you do is take one of these out. Look, I've found a picture with animals. My favourite animal is the giraffe. I like how tall a giraffe is and I think its blue tongue is funny. Now your turn."
Simone looked at the poorly drawn animals on the image. "My favourite animal is a dog," she said. "Dogs are loyal and fun to have around. I like to play ball with the dog but I don't like picking up after a dog does its business."
The speech therapist passed the image to little B. "My favoweet is the pig!" He exclaimed, having evidently caught on to the game.
"I don't like pigs," the speech therapist said. "I think they smell bad." She stopped speaking and gazed at little B meaningfully.
"My favoweet is the pig," he repeated after a few moments.
"What do you like about the pig?" Simone asked.
"It's preferable if you don't ask questions but pause instead to let him have his say," the speech therapist corrected.
"Really?" Simone asked, surprised.
"Really," the speech therapist said.
They both looked at little B. "My favoweet is the pig," he said, giving back the image with a puzzled look on his face.
The art of conversation may indeed present a challenge if questions are forbidden...
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