Finding A Voice by Maddi

For a long time I could not talk.  I remember when I first started using sign language.  I started signing because my mom showed me the song “Fireflies” by Owl City in Sign Language. 

Before the accident, I enjoyed watching people signing my favorite songs.  She brought up the clip on her computer on YouTube and we watched it over and over again.  We watched my other favorites signing songs too.

When I started signing that gave me hope that I would be able to communicate even if I didn’t find my voice.
I remember my mom putting my hand on her voice box (Adam’s Apple) and talking and having me feel the vibrations of her voice.  She wanted me to talk so badly because she knew the frustration that I felt each night when she would say, “Once you can tell me to stay, I will stay.” 

There are only so many things I could say in sign language since I am a beginner and so is my mom.  Luckily, I knew some sign language before the accident, thanks to my cousins who are deaf.

The first time I spoke was exhilarating.  The first thing I said was Mom.  I made each sound kind of like learning to read.  Then I said dad, then it was like a waterfall.  I didn’t stop talking, I had six weeks to make up for.   I rhymed every single word I knew.

 
Not only did I rhyme, but I was a really good parrot, repeating everything people said to me.  I did that because I needed to get my vocabulary back.  That helped me because it put those words back into storage so I could use them later.

I am so grateful for my voice and the ability to communicate and every else I have re-learned.  What a gift!