An adorable Glasgow tot learned how to finally communicate with her mum thanks to a CBeebies star.
Jessica French accidentally learned to use Makaton sign language while watching Mr Tumble, a colourful kids TV show character, use it on screen.
The five-year-old, from Drumchapel, was born with a form of dwarfism, developmental problems, and down syndrome.
When she was two-years-old her parents noticed she was non-verbal but had started to mimic Mr Tumble, allowing her to finally be able to express herself.
Mum Lyn McMillian, 44, told the Post: “Jessica is non-verbal. We noticed she wasn't speaking but would point at things she needed but it was hard for her.
“She enjoys watching Mr Tumble and we suddenly noticed she started to pick up the language he was using quite quickly.
“She would start signing in Makaton for a drink or any need which let us communicate with her.
“It has made a massive difference to her life, I didn’t know about Makaton before Mr Tumble but I started to research and learn it for Jessica.”
Mr Tumble is played by Justin Fletcher in the popular series Something Special on CBeebies, which helps tots communicate their needs using signs and symbols.
Jessica’s family now want to raise awareness for Makaton International Awareness Day [Monday, August 28] to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the language Programme.
Lyn added: “For now she is communicating in her own way but when she goes to hospital it can be frustrating as they don’t know what she is trying to say.
“She is in hospital a lot as she has respiratory problems because of her small lungs, meaning she is on oxygen a lot.
“We brought our own books into the hospital for staff to see and try and understand her, it is very useful to know the basics.
“Sometimes she gets upset when she is trying to sign to people and they don’t answer her because they don’t realise.
“We would love to see it introduced in more places so that Jessica wouldn’t be as lonely and unable to interact with people.”
The John O’Byrne foundation is backing Lyn’s appeal for more Makaton awareness after noticing many youngsters would benefit.
They are hoping to see the language become more mainstream in hospitals and schools in the future.
Charity founder John O’Byrne said: “There's more and more kids these days who are non-verbal which makes Makaton even more important.
“It’s been highlighted to us a few times that not enough people in various hospitals know how to use Makaton, but I've started putting books in wards now to help staff understand.
“The bigger picture is getting classes organised to make the process a lot quicker for staff to learn all this.
“We are in talks with the kid's hospital to make this happen, but it will be a long process.”
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “One of our favourite things is to hear that a CBeebies programme has helped someone so this story is incredibly heartening.
"We regularly get messages from parents telling us how our programmes have helped their children with their development and we have lots of CBeebies programmes, including Something Special with Mr Tumble, which focus on learning available on iPlayer.”
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