I was reading the report from the special education services. They had done some tests to determine Bri's needs. Besides being able to say her name and her age they wanted her to be able to say "I am a girl."
This is an actual benchmark that they look for.
I intend to have a discussion with her speech therapist. I'm concerned because my husband and I really aren't teaching her gender. I don't put her in dresses. I've tried a couple of times for special occasions and she seems to have tolerated them but I let her pick out her own clothes. She loves green shirts and rainbow pants. Also her pink socks and blue shoes.
All of her toys are a combination of things. She has a couple of dolls that she usually just tosses out of the way. The only toy she's played with like a baby is her blue bunny. I think she learned tucking a toy into bed from kids at daycare. The toys I focus on are hands-on science, writing, and art supplies.
Because Bri doesn't really talk I have no idea how she's going to identify herself.
When daycare starts teaching gender and the test taker looks for her to identify herself that way I get really nervous. I want to keep Bri's options open. That's why I haven't doused her room in pink and piled her up with dolls and pretty pink tea sets. I'm not trying to shape her, I'm trying to discover her. I'll let her tell me who she is.
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