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Toddler With Down Syndrome Says His First Word After His Sister Sings Him A Song, And It Will Melt Your Heart
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Toddler With Down Syndrome Learns His First Words By Watching His Sister Sing

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Music is often a perfect escape from the mundane routine of our lives, taking us away from reality. For some, however, music is a bridge that connects us closer to the world, especially this two-year-old boy with Down syndrome, Bo.

Back in January, Amanda Bowman Gray, a mother from Utah, shared a video of her children singing “You Are My Sunshine” on Facebook, where it quickly attracted attention. Not only was it the most adorable sight as Amanda’s daughter Lydia played the guitar and sang, but it was also extremely special. As Lydia sang the song over and over the again, her brother started picking up words she sang, thus learning his first words through music. Bo has a vocabulary of 12 words, with ‘happy’ being his first word.

“Of course, I screamed, and I brought down my husband! I teared up, I was very emotional,” Amanda told PEOPLE about the first time she heard her son speak. She says that her son’s progress is a proof that music therapy works as the specialist had warned her that Bo most likely would only start to speak at the age of 3 and later.

More info: Youtube | Facebook (h/t)

Meet Bo, a lively two-year-old boy with Down syndrome from Utah

Bo has 4 siblings, 3 brothers and a sister, that love and take care of him

Back in January his mother, Amanda, shared a video on Facebook that went viral with 61M views and around 3M likes and shares

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In the video, Bo sits alongside his sister Lydia, who plays “You Are My Sunshine” on guitar

As Lydia sang the song over and over the again, her brother started picking up words

By learning words through music, he finally uttered his first one, “happy”

“I teared up, I was very emotional,” says Amanda

“You Are My Sunshine” is a very special song to Bo, as his parents sang it while he was in CICU after a heart surgery

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After he recovered, his musically-inclined sister kept singing the song over and over again

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He started uttering words that a specialist said he wouldn’t be able to before the age of 3

“He’s defied the odds of what was possible with Down Syndrome,” his mother said

Amanda advocates for music therapy, saying that Bo is a proof it works

“Every word he has learned has been through music and singing” his mother explained

Watch the video below to see Bo and Lydia’s adorable singing

People were quick to express their support to Bo and Lydia

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Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

Author, Community member

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As a writer and image editor for Bored Panda, Giedrė crafts posts on many different topics to push them to their potential. She's also glad that her Bachelor’s degree in English Philology didn’t go to waste (although collecting dust in the attic could also be considered an achievement of aesthetic value!) Giedrė is an avid fan of cats, photography, and mysteries, and a keen observer of the Internet culture which is what she is most excited to write about. Since she's embarked on her journalistic endeavor, Giedrė has over 600 articles under her belt and hopes for twice as much (fingers crossed - half of them are about cats).

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Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

Author, Community member

As a writer and image editor for Bored Panda, Giedrė crafts posts on many different topics to push them to their potential. She's also glad that her Bachelor’s degree in English Philology didn’t go to waste (although collecting dust in the attic could also be considered an achievement of aesthetic value!) Giedrė is an avid fan of cats, photography, and mysteries, and a keen observer of the Internet culture which is what she is most excited to write about. Since she's embarked on her journalistic endeavor, Giedrė has over 600 articles under her belt and hopes for twice as much (fingers crossed - half of them are about cats).

Hey pandas, what do you think?
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diz_1 avatar
The Laugh Fan
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Beautiful children. When I was in primary school there was a mother who would bring her child in to see his brother in class. This little one had Down's Syndrome and we all absolutely adored him. He would stick his tongue out when we asked him to smile which we thought was so funny and he was just generally the loveliest baby. Down's Syndrome varies across children and no-one should listen to people telling them that their child will only do something by a certain age. They are so often wrong.

monilip avatar
Monilip
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They only thing I see common in Down Syndrome people is that they are very happy people, smiling a lot.

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kcanded avatar
KCN
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He is so doggone cute! I LOVE the upsweep hair! And I have seen musical therapy work on so many special needs children, it's a damned shame that music is being cut from so many education budgets.

martinw avatar
Martin
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Happy to see he has been fully accepted and loved by his family !

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diz_1 avatar
The Laugh Fan
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Beautiful children. When I was in primary school there was a mother who would bring her child in to see his brother in class. This little one had Down's Syndrome and we all absolutely adored him. He would stick his tongue out when we asked him to smile which we thought was so funny and he was just generally the loveliest baby. Down's Syndrome varies across children and no-one should listen to people telling them that their child will only do something by a certain age. They are so often wrong.

monilip avatar
Monilip
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They only thing I see common in Down Syndrome people is that they are very happy people, smiling a lot.

Load More Replies...
kcanded avatar
KCN
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He is so doggone cute! I LOVE the upsweep hair! And I have seen musical therapy work on so many special needs children, it's a damned shame that music is being cut from so many education budgets.

martinw avatar
Martin
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Happy to see he has been fully accepted and loved by his family !

Load More Comments
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