Anthony's Story

Last Updated:- , Best viewed at 800 x 600 res.

The background is of our own design, using one of Georgina's Artwork.

Anthony was born on the 6th of February 1987, Anthony is 20 years old now and able to walk and run with supervision.

In his first months of life (0 - 9) everything seemed normal, being parents we knew something was wrong. Anthony was very slow in learning the usual skills e.g. motor skills, at 14mths he learn't to roll, at 17mths he started sitting, combat crawling he was 19mths, 24mths started standing at objects, but did not start walking until he was 3 years old.

It was at this stage we decided to look for answers, we were not prepared for what was to happen, the paediatrician without doing any tests on Anthony came up with so many different diagnoses, after waiting for a month to see specialists to have tests performed on Anthony, all his tests came back normal we were relieved that it was not life threatening, but we were none of the wiser as to what was wrong with Anthony, he had all the standard tests e.g. EEG, CAT SCAN, BLOOD, EMG and URINE.

It was a chance meeting with a Geneticists in a near by town to discuss information about cerebral palsy which Anthony had been labelled as up until he was 3 years old, no sooner had the Dr observed Anthony walking across the room he stated that Anthony did not have cerebral palsy, but Angelman Syndrome instead. He suggested that Anthony's blood should be DNA tested, but as up till now no deletion in the chromosome 15 has been found. We have been lucky in one respect, Anthony does not suffer from seizures, as this can be a common complaint amongst AS children.

Since the age of 4 years old, Anthony has been attending a special school, with each year Anthony has accomplished many tasks, his communication has come a long way as he was introduced to the Makaton Sign Language, he loves music, watching TV walking, running, eating ( hand over hand ), drinks from a straw, loves swimming, goes horse riding, Anthony attends a normal school environment once a week which he enjoys greatly, by singing, dancing and playing with the other children in the playground, Anthony has a teachers aid at his school, she helps Anthony with all his needs, he is not toilet trained as yet, we are hoping that one day he will be.

Anthony's Symbol Board (Makaton)
and link to The Makaton Homepage in Canada

Anthony also had a lot of trouble with reflux, he couldn't keep a lot of his food down and had a tendency to choke on food, he also reacted to dairy products so in his early years we eliminated dairy products from his diet, except for a standard cup of tea which was mixed 50/50 tea and milk. Anthony is 12 years old now and still loves his cuppa, and in small amounts he can tolerate other dairy products.

When Anthony was 3 years old, we made a giant size cot, which lays on the floor, the reason for this bed is because AS children are very poor sleepers, there have been many all night stints when Anthony has not slept, therefore the bed has been a life saver, also having a babies electronic monitor in his room means that we can constantly keep a check on him, as Anthony has got older his sleeping pattern has improved a 100%, Anthony now sleeps from 9.30p.m. to 6.00a.m., so we now as parents are able to get proper sleep. One thing we have noted, is that, as Anthony has got older, his sleeping has improved, we don't know if this applies to all angelman children, but it seems to be that way with Anthony.

Anthony has a wheelchair, he has had it since he started school, at the age of 4 years, again it made life easier for us, especially shopping, recreational, learning his Makaton/Compic/PECS/Boardmaker signs and symbols, or when I'm cooking, and it settles him down, out of his chair Anthony walks, runs and never stops until we put him in his chair, he gets over heated very quickly, Anthony has great stretch in his limbs he is able to grab any object, he loves chewing doesn't matter if it is animal, vegetable, or mineral.

At Anthony's school all the teachers called him inspector gadget, Anthony learns so much when he is in his chair he seems to take in so much information, and with his Makaton board that is attached to his chair, he is able to point to the picture then to the object, we are so lucky to have a excellent school, with caring teachers who listen to us as parents, we are in constant communication everyday using a diary for e.g. if we learn Anthony a new word, then that info is pasted on to the teachers and vice versa, this way it is recorded and then used in speech therapy, or at home. Some e.g. of words at the age of 9 years old, what, look is ook, eat, bear, horse is or, mum, dad, drink is ink, ebuh is bus, moth is mot, he also signs eat, mum, P for his brother Peter, E for his cousin Eddy who is also living with us, everyday we use these words either asking him questions then he points to his board, before the Makaton symbols board was introduced, Anthony was very agitated & frustrated, and very hard to control it opened up a whole new world for him.

Anthony has enriched our lives and others that are involved, he gives unconditional love everyday, once you look into his beautiful big brown eyes everyone is sucked in, little do they know what they are in for.

This page is not finished and probably never will be, as Anthony gets older it will be updated. If this information does not answer all your questions please go back to the main page, and subscribe to the Angelman mailing list, where there is plenty of answers, support and opinions to be found for everyday living.

[Home][Main Page][Photo's][Angelman Links][Makaton Homepage]

Created on the 6th December 1996