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Aiden
has not just been to Florida for a holiday. He is what's known as
a SWAN (syndrome without a name) child. Many believe swimming with
dolphins may have therapeutic effects for children with learning
difficulties.
Aiden's
mum, Toni Harrigan, has been keeping a dairy of their time in Florida.
She introduces us to her family: "My family is just three -
me, Aiden's dad Michael and Aiden. Aiden is six years old. He goes
to a special school called Turnshaws. He's been going there for
about three years now. He's undiagnosed at the moment. He's got
neurological problems. He's not talking at all. He's walking a bit
but he's just developmentally delayed to the age of 18 months to
two years, but he's making steady progress and we're just trying
to do everything we can for him."
Listen
to
Toni's audio diary
of Aiden's trip to Florida:
You
will need RealPlayer to listen to the audio
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Toni
talks about what the family hopes to get from the Florida trip:
"I'd like to take Aiden to spend time with the dolphins because
I'd like to help him as much as possible. I'd like to see him running
around the field kicking a ball. I'd like to hear him say his first
word but if we don't get that then anything that goes towards helping
Aiden in any little way is good.
"People
say, 'How do you cope,' but my answer is, 'you just get on with
it really.' You can't get depressed because doesn't allow
you to. He just laughs all the time. He has his bad moments as well
like any other child.
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| Swimming
with dolphins is thought to have a therapeutic effect |
"We
actually know another couple and they got some good results for
their son. He can actually run around a football field now where
he was in a wheelchair most of the time and he can actually say
a few words such as Mum and ball and cup.
"Aiden
never said anything before so we just took him on the basis of going
to see what happened. He has the chance of a life, hasn't he? He
loves the water and he loves animals so put the two together, he's
going to be a happy boy."
To
find out what Aiden and his family did in Florida, go to Toni's
audio diary in the box above.
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