One thing nearly all children with Down syndrome have in
common is a difficulty with learning to speak. Many are born with impaired
hearing. Their large tongues and tiny, narrow mouths make shaping words hard,
and their brains just aren’t wired for verbal communication. (Last week a young
man with DS repeatedly shouted, “GO DISNEYLAND! STAR WARS RIDE!” We gathered he
loves Star Tours, but couldn’t tell if he was about to go or just got back.) Two-year-old
Bo Gray’s family was told he’d probably manage his first words (if he learned
to speak at all) at age four or five. But as his older sister played the guitar
and sang “You Are My Sunshine” to him, he chimed in with his very first word: “happy.”
Within a month, Bo had mastered a dozen words from the song. Today they’re working
on “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” so little Bo can learn to say his own name.
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