Four-year-old Miko Monroe of Hutchinson shares a special bond with parents Brielle and Kevin.
"He likes music," Brielle said, "sensory stuff."
"The first time I played guitar for him, he started crying," said Kevin.
Miko, who was born prematurely, suffered a traumatic brain injury at six months. He depends upon tube feeding, his vision is impaired, he is nonverbal and needs total care from his parents and others. Both Mom and Dad play for him to deepen their bond and spend time together. Brielle, a fan of dubstep, has even warmed her son up to the music genre.
"He came to a liking for it," she said.
But a good sound cue means even more for Miko.
"He's honestly — I don't know how to describe it — he's an angel. He's the sweetest, most pure kid out there. He's very sweet," Brielle said. "He likes fart noises. It's how we can figure out what he wants — the different fart noises he makes."
Both she and Kevin said they can follow along with what Miko is trying to communicate by listening to verbal flatulence noises he makes, along with other clicks and pops. Such noises, along with music, also help fill what Miko misses in the ability to play.
"It's this little thing he does," Kevin said. "It's easy to tell what he wants now."
They've been working with him on other sensory methods as well. With a rattle they can strap to Miko's hand, he learns that when he moves it makes a noise.
"(We are) having him realize his hand is his, and he can control where it goes and how it moves," Brielle said.
What shape long-term progress will take is at this point unknown, but lifelong care is likely.
"They really don't know," Brielle said. "He was so young when he got hurt."
But Miko's parents can see his progress every step of the way, even if it isn't always obvious from the outside that the 4-year-old is improving. Someone who met him a year ago and met him today may not be able to tell what changed, Brielle said, as Miko isn't developing new skills that are easy to spot. But "when it comes to the way he learns to express his emotions, that's something we understand," Brielle said.
"Every appointment that goes by there is progress," Kevin said. "It's night and day."
For instance, Miko now understands what "thumbs up" means.
Along with the help of doctors, Brielle and Kevin have support from family and educators.
"Both of our families help whenever they can," Brielle said. "The West Elementary School in Hutch is doing really great adapting to Miko and having things in the classroom for him, making sure he has what he needs. They've done well having him in there."
