Boy with Down syndrome learns how to talk by singing ‘You Are My Sunshine’

Asking your child to babysit their sibling is a nervous occasion.

You're asking, so you know they're sensible enough, but it's always a worry.

Amanda Gray, from Heber City, Utah, found she had nothing to fear when she found her daughter, Lydia, teaching her 25-month-old son Bo a new song.

The sweetest part of all, is that Bo has Down syndrome and a limited vocabulary of, according to Amanda, 12 words. You can count that vocabulary as growing!

In a Facebook video, published on Monday 15 January, she wrote:

My daughter Lydia was watching Bo while I was in the shower. Came out to this.

If she didn’t have a guitar I don’t know if she would know how to babysit him. This is her go to.

It’s proof that music therapy works.

Bo is 25 months old and has a 12 word vocabulary.

Every word he has learned has been through music and singing.

The video quickly went very viral, with 38 million views, over 900,000 shares, and over a million reactions. People loved the inventive way Bo was learning new words, and the care his sister showed in engaging in a friendly activity with him.

It quickly became a news story, with many outlets covering the video.

In another Facebook post, she wrote about how the song holds special significance for the family as her husband, Caleb, would practice the song before Bo underwent heart surgery.

At night we would practice and sing this song while he was in my arms. It was very much routine before his surgery.

This was the first time that he moved as he reacted to the familiarity of the song and our voices. He was so heavily sedated and wouldn't respond. From then on this has become his theme song.

Caleb brought a guitar to the hospital during his recovery, so Lydia and Amanda could perform the song for Bo.

He is a blessing.

He has brought a sweet spirit into our home and a little piece of heaven. He has changed our lives and humbled us beyond measure.

Watch the full video, below:

HT Little Things

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