CHAT Blog

“I am not sure Little Debbie even knows she is speaking when she talks in class.” was the note from my kindergarten teacher on my mid-term report card. To say communication is an important part of my life is an understatement. If I can’t say it, I write it. The words have to come out somehow. When my daughter Amanda was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth, my first thought was “Will she be understood? Will she be able to communicate with her family and friends? Will we know what is in her heart?” To make matters more challenging, at 4 months of age, Amanda had vocal cord damage as a result of a surgery. This created the need for a tracheostomy tube to assist with breathing, and the use of a Passy-Muir Valve, http://www.passy-muir.com, to give us any hope of voice production. Armed with a little round plastic thingamajiggy, plans to learn sign language, and an almost two year old rarin’ to go, our journey to speech began.