By Jill Hayes
I knew at 18 months my daughter wasnʼt communicating like other children she wasnʼt repeating words or calling me to get my attention. I began to ask other mums and was always told not to worry she will speak when sheʼs ready, the most common quote I heard was my son / daughter didnʼt speak until they were 3. I held onto the hope she would wake up one day and start speaking like the other mums said but I also followed my mothers instinct and we began speech therapy at 2.5 years. Signing with Makaton opened the door to our communication. It was like switching on a light bulb. At 3 she began calling me mummy, at 3.5 she began stringing short sentences together, fast forward to now 5 years old we have a complete chatterbox on our hands! I am now one of those mums who can say my daughter didnʼt speak until she was 3.. however I also follow that with because of intense therapy hard work and dedication and buckets of patience. Her sentences may be muddled and she may use the wrong words sometimes but every word I hear still makes my heart skip a beat. She tells me ‘she loves me 20 poundsʼ.. but I love her millions of pounds and more.
