Roy’s feedback loops demonstrated how words in his home affected his son’s
speech development. He played audio to show the audience how his son went from
saying ‘gaga’ to ‘water’ as he got older, then he showed a map of where the word
water was said the most in the house. The pattern that was on the map showed how
he developed the word water based on where the word was interacted with the
most.
I remember when I was quite young, my family would go to my grandpa’s house for
spaghetti dinner every Sunday. Some days we would get to my grandpa’s house
early and he would still be out at the store, getting some last minute groceries for
dinner. Every time he walked in the house and we were already there, he would say
“I’m home.” Being the developing toddler that I was, I saw this as something that
was expected, since he did it every single time he came home. I had gone outside
with one of my aunts one Sunday while dinner was being made, and when I walked
back into the house, I basically mimicked what I saw and heard my grandpa doing. I
walked in with my aunt, ran up to my mom, and happily greeted her by saying “I
home!”, despite the fact that I never actually left. My family still gets a kick out of it.
Not long after that, I started noticing that everyone in my family does it, which only
further pushed me to do it more and more. Now, into adulthood, I continue to greet
my friends and family when I get home, calling out to whoever is in the house to let
them know that I’m home. I’ve even caught myself doing it when there is nobody
home because it was something I learned to do from such a young age.
The concept of scaffolding applies to emotional intelligence. This concept helps us
to grow and learn, and it can be used in more than just speech patterns. If we are
supported and we see those supporting us taking care of their own emotions, then
we will start to do it as well.
