Nonvocal 5-Year-Old Boy Speaks For The First Time

It was a delightful moment for 5-year-old Judah Bittner, from Port Charlotte, Florida, who was finally able to speak for the first time in his life with the help of an electrolarynx.

He was a premature baby along with his twin sister, Annikah, they weighed just over a pound each and were not expected to live but miraculously they survived and were adopted by Mike and Jessica Bittner, who are raising five adopted children, all with special needs and developmental delays.

We are closing out day 54 in the hospital. In those days we have smiled, wept, screamed, and laughed. We've also…

Posted by Jessica Bittner on Sunday, December 13, 2015

Judah had a health scare in 2015, when he was hospitalized and doctors fitted him with a tracheotomy to help him breathe, but sadly it was the tube which damaged Judah’s vocal cords. It wasn’t until March 2018, when he was introduced to the electrolarynx, and in the presence of his mom and siblings, his speech pathologist told him about the device.

She then put the electrolarynx next to Judah’s neck and urged him to say a few words. At first he was shy, but he managed to say, “Hello,” the first word he said in years to the delight of his family.

Verse of the Day

“[Thanksgiving] I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—”

1 Corinthians 1:4-5