Dolphins unlock power of speech

Posted at BBC News

An eight-year-old British boy who suffered brain damage at birth has spoken for the first time after swimming with dolphins in Florida.

The boy, Nikki Brice, had undergone traditional therapy without success, although doctors said he had the physical ability to speak.

After just a few days at the Human Dolphin Therapy Centre in Miami, where children swim with the mammals, he uttered his first stumbling words.

First words

After being told to get out of the water at the end of a dolphin swimming session, the boy turned to his mother and said: "In" - indicating he wanted to return to the pool.

Over the next few days Nikki, from Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, added "please" and "duck" to his vocabulary.

Nikki's mother Tabitha said hearing her son speak for the first time was "a miracle".

"I am chuffed to bits with what has happened. The dolphins really have helped him to speak," she said.

"It is like seeing magic happening before your eyes, even more so because nobody can explain why all these wonderful things are happening.

"There is something magical that happens between children and dolphins, something that I don't think we will ever fully understand," she said.

Scientists are trying to discover why dolphins can have a therapeutic effect on depression sufferers and people with learning difficulties.

It is thought the underwater sounds made by dolphins to communicate may play a part.

Chris Connell, a spokeswoman for the therapy centre, which has a 97% success rate, said: "Swimming with dolphins is an essential part of treatment because this not only provides a therapeutic benefit but is also a motivational tool.

"The 40-minute swimming sessions are run in conjunction with conventional speech and physical therapy and encourage the children to do well."