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Girl who cannot speak manages to say ‘I love you’ to her mum

Most mums are lucky enough to hear their children say ‘I love you’ on a daily basis, but when Rachel Adam Smith’s daughter Francesca said those three words it was a huge breakthrough.

Francesca suffers from a genetic disorder so rare that there are no other cases like hers in the UK. The schoolgirl who celebrated her tenth birthday this week was born with damage to chromosome 16 which has left her with a range of complications including being almost completely mute.

However, recently her mum managed to capture Francesca saying ‘I love you’ on video. “To hear her tell me she loves me took my breath away. I know she has so much more she wants to say,” Rachel told The Daily Mail.

“Francesca tries so desperately to speak and gets increasingly frustrated and tearful when she can’t,” Rachel added.

After seeing the video, a specialist school said they could help Francesca to learn how to speak in less than a year. However, the fees are £60,000 a year and despite the LEA agreeing Francesca has an urgent need for extra help they don’t have the funding to cover her place.

Rachel, who gave up her career to care for her daughter full-time is appealing the Local Education Autority’s decision and has also started fundraising to try to raise money for one year’s school fees.

We hope Rachel’s appeal is accepted but if you would like to donate towards Francesca’s school fees visit: http://www.justgiving.com/FrancescaAdam-Smith

We’re wishing Francesca and her mums lots of luck. Do you remember the first time your child said ‘I love you’?