Sing a Sentence
13-year-old Samantha Ruderham has recorded her own pop album of 10 sounds, I Have a Voice, the January 3rd Edinburgh News reports. Samantha is autistic; her parents were told that she might never learn to speak. Her mother notes that “her daughter had actually learned to sing before she could speak in complete sentences.” Some 180 copies of I Have a Voice have been sold so far, with the proceeds benefiting the Kaimes School, which Samantha attends.
Mrs Ruderham said: “Samantha’s musical ability is not just about the singing, it’s what she does around the music.
“She takes a song, and she’ll change it to make it her own by rephrasing it, or adding an ad lib.
“This has helped her learn to communicate with people. There are times she can’t make herself understood. The words in her head make sense to her, but other people can’t get a sense of it.
“If she has had a difficult day at school, then she’ll come home and sing a sad song. By the end of it she’ll feel better.”
Samantha said: “I’ve always enjoyed singing and listening to music – my favourite is dance music. I’m really pleased with the CD. My favourite song is Whole Again. It’s really funky with an explosion at the end!”
Singing is how my son Charlie, who is minimally verbal, communicates his feelings. He can carry a tune perfectly, though the words to a song tend to come out as a stream of vowel sounds and hums, and it was long ago that we noted that, while Charlie could sing the melody of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Hello, Charlie, how are you today,” he could not, and did not, speak in sentences of such length—-most of his sentences are one or two words, unless he is reminded to say something longer. Of late, Charlie has started to sing melodies as soon as he hears them, whereas it used to be that he had to listen to a song several times over before singing it.
Go here to hear Samantha singing “I Have a Voice,” “Who Painted the Moon Black,” and other songs; this is Samantha’s webpage.
A further note on non-verbal communication: 4-year-old Rose Willcocks of Hertfordshire in the UK has been dubbed “little Miss Doolittle”: Rose has a “chromosome defect which has left her with a floppy voicebox and windpipe,” and also autism and learning difficulties. She does not speak but, on a visit to a farm, began to communicate with cows:
We went to see the cows,” Mrs Willcocks said. “Suddenly, Rose perked up. I did a double-take as I struggled to take in what I was hearing. She wasn’t actually saying words but there were no two ways about it - she was talking to a cow.”
“There was something about animals that made Rosie connect. We could barely get her to make eye contact or moan or groan but here she was, chatting like an old friend to the cows and horses.”
“Her affinity with animals amazes everyone. She changes from an introvert into a chatterbox.” The family are planning to take Rose to the U.S. for therapy, involving swimming with dolphins, in the hope she will continue improving.
Animal science professor Temple Grandin’s accounts in her books of how she understands animals come to mind here—-from raising Charlie, I know that words are only one way to say what you wish to say.
1 opinion for Sing a Sentence
Marla
Jan 4, 2008 at 9:04 pm
I love these kind of stories. Maizie is like the little girl with dogs. She connects with them on a level most kids don’t. Dogs that don’t relaly care for kids treat her differently. Thanks for sharing these.
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