MARVELLOUS REAL LIFE
Lyn Macmillan, 45, from Glasgow, knew her little girl might not talk. But she had her own way of communicating…
Peering around the living room door, I smiled as I noticed what was on the TV.
Sitting in her wheelchair with her eyes glued to the screen was my daughter Jessica, then two.
And looking back at her, with his bright red nose and pink spotty bow tie, was Mr Tumble.
Every morning before nursery, Jessica giggled along – Mr Tumble and Friends was her favourite show.
Bringing her afresh cup of water, Iwondered if Jessica might be thirsty.
‘Are you watching Mr Tumble again?’ I chuckled.
‘She’s obsessed with that man,’ my partner Ed, 52, laughed from the sofa.
Then, holding the plastic cup in one hand, Ibrought my other hand to my mouth.
Iwas signing the word ‘drink’ in the Makaton language to her.
It was something I’d learned years ago, back when my son James, now 12, was non-verbal as atoddler.
I’d never experienced anything like it with my older son Jordan, now 25.
We only had to use Makaton until James was three-and-ahalf, when he started talking.
But me and Ed remembered the skills we learned, never knowing when we might need them next.
Only now, we had to use Makaton to try to communicate with Jessica.
IN HER OWN WORDS
But this time, we seemed to be struggling.
With both Down’s syndrome and dwarfism, Jessica had alot to overcome.
At three months old, she’d even needed major surgery to fix two holes in her heart.
From the moment she was born on 16 May 2018, she’s had to fight.
However, she was always so determined and we couldn’t love her anymore if we tried.
We’d initially been told she’d never walk or talk, but by 10 months old, she was already bum shuffling, determined to get on the move.
Although she couldn’t stand up or walk, it was clear she had that fighting spirit.
So, although teaching her Makaton was achallenge, I hoped that soon, she’d pick it up herself.
After all, it broke my heart that I couldn’t properly communicate with my girl.
Whenever she wanted something, she’d wail and point frantically at different things in the house –her cup, her toys, the TV.
Since Jessica turned two, we’d been trying for two months to get her to understand Makaton.
We were told that she would never walk or talk
But no matter what we did, it didn’t click with her.
Yet one day, while she was sat watching Mr Tumble and Friends, something on the telly caught me by surprise.
He was using Makaton! ‘Now yo
