A huge milestone for a two-year-old boy was not as easy as “A, B, C.”
John David Marlin has Down syndrome, which often makes speech and articulation difficult for a person with the condition.
So when the boy recited the alphabet to his grandmother, Pam Sapp, on Sunday, it was cause for celebration.
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“We were so amazed,” Sapp told ABC News.
“Within the last year, he’s been starting to say a few words like ‘mama’ and ‘dada,’ but for him to articulate each letter, that was amazing to me.”
Some letters were easier to pronounce than others, but the effort that John David put into pronouncing challenging letters like “j” or “w” resulted in cheers and applause.
John David’s parents Hannah and Cameron Marlin enrolled their son in early intervention programs that included speech development when he was six months old.
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Hannah wrote on Facebook that she hoped that the video of her son would encourage any expecting parents of children with Down syndrome.
“Hopefully [the video will] help any expecting mom that may be having a child with Down syndrome to not be afraid or worried. But to see the great joy and ability in disability!”
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