Mum receives best Mother’s Day present: Non-verbal son says ‘I love you’

A Sydney mother’s wish to hear her non-verbal son speak has come true in the most unusual way. And it has been life-changing.

When a child utters their first words it is an unforgettable moment for any parent but, for Jo O’Brien, hearing her non-verbal son speak has been life-changing.

The Sydney mum of four had scant hope of ever hearing her 11-year-old son, Henry, talk after he was diagnosed with an extremely rare disease – Glass Syndrome – but a mobile phone app has ­allowed her to hear “I love you mum” out loud.

“He’d do it through Auslan, but to hear a little voice say it, just meant so much.”

Ever since discovering the text-to-speech feature on his iPhone in December last year, Henry has been able to type out what he wants to say, with the app converting the text to speech, saying it out loud for him. The accessibility features were introduced by Apple in May last year.

Jo O’Brien with her son Henry in Lewisham. Henry is non-verbal and uses tech on his phone to interact with his mum. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“He was just so surprised when it read it out and he was really proud too,” she said.

Henry’s mum has been able to see his confidence skyrocket, opening up new doors of opportunity to interact with people.

From ordering waffles to getting his hair cut, Henry has been taking massive steps in regaining and developing his independence, partaking in conversations he wouldn’t have before.

“I just think of the moment when you have no hope, and now I’ve got hope and I’ve got it in front of me, is such a wonderful feeling,” Ms O’Brien said.

“It does hurt every day when you see him not being able to meet milestones that other regular kids can.

“But we get a lot of different things with Henry. We get a lot more happiness with him, because he’s so quirky.”

Glass Syndrome affects several body systems, but not much is known about the syndrome, as there are only about 740 people globally diagnosed with this condition – 13 in NSW among just 40 across the nation.

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