17-month-old toddler, Elizabeth Barrett surprised everyone this morning by reading full sentences on the Today show this morning.
When Ann Curry held up a sheet of paper with the word “HAPPY” printed in big, block letters and asks Elizabeth to read it, Elizabeth chirps without hesitation, “Hap-py,” enunciating each syllable in a bright little voice.
Ann went on flashing words, none of which Elizabeth has been coached on, and the remarkable little girl reads them.
“Kang-a-roo.” “Flow-er.” “Nice to meet you.” “Take a bath.” “Good morning, Ann.”
Elizabeth’s parents are speech pathologists and when the tot was young, they started teaching her sign language along with spoken language.
They read to her often, and her favorite television program — the only one her parents let her watch — was a PBS show called “Signing Times,” which teaches kids sign language.
Yet, as much as her parents worked to stimulate her language skills, they were as astonished as anyone when she started picking out words and reading them, especially as they never attempted to teach her to read.
“We tried to do everything we could to try to stimulate her language growth,” Michael Barrett told Curry. “From day one Katy has been using sign language with her. We think anything relating to language is a good thing to nurture.”
“This is something we never expected,” added his wife. “We didn’t teach her this. We don’t sit down and drill her on words. She loves reading books.”
During the interview, the little prodigy showed new skills that her parents were not aware she had.
While her parents were talking, Ann wrote a word down on a piece of paper and showed it to Elizabeth.
“That’s cursive,” Michael Barrett started to say. “Ba-by,” Elizabeth interrupted
“She reads cursive?” Curry exclaimed.
Replied Katy Barrett, “We didn’t know that.”
Amazing!! Kids pick up the craziest things!!
Related Articles:
