World | UK
Twins who talk only in code
Identical twins who talk in a vocabulary only they understand have been sent to school early in an attempt to teach them to speak normally.
- By Paul Stokes, The Telegraph Group Limited
- Published: 00:00 March 5, 2006
Identical twins who talk in a vocabulary only they understand have been sent to school early in an attempt to teach them to speak normally.
Four-year-old Luke and Jack Ryan are unable to talk properly at an age when most children of a similar age have already developed the ability to speak in proper sentences.
The brothers hold lengthy chats with one another but in words and at a speed barely understood by their parents and indecipherable to others.
Richard Ryan, 30, a postman, and his wife Hayley, 25, were delighted when their sons used normal words like "mum" and "dad" when they were a year old. But 18 months later the couple realised that although the boys, who were born five weeks premature, had grown into perfectly healthy toddlers they only spoke in a form of code.
The Ryans became so concerned that they have arranged for speech therapy and have taken health visitors' advice to send them to nursery school early in an attempt to stimulate their communication skills.
"We have always talked to the boys and done the right things, but no one ever tells you the problems you can face when you have twins," said Hayley, from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire.
Research in the Netherlands suggests that around 40 per cent of twins develop their own language, normally a modified version of the words they hear others speaking, but only for a short time. Luke and Jack understand everything that is said to them, but use their own words such as "bool" for school, "choo choo" for tissue, "Jar" for Jack and "Wook" for Luke.
Hayley, a care worker, whose family has a history of twins, said: "I can pick up on some things, but I struggle to understand them.
Odd noises
"They will often chatter among themselves and it just looks like they are making really odd noises between each other. They will then go off and play a game and you realise they must have just been discussing what they should do next. It is really odd.
"They understand each other because they have developed a sort of shorthand but no one else knows what they are saying. A lot of it is a kind of lazy version of English."
She believes the boys think they are speaking properly and it is other people who are using the wrong words.
The parents, whose other son Ben is 14 months old, say that although there has been improvement in the twins' speech since they started going to school, people still have difficulty understanding them. She said: "They go to nursery school where even the three-year-olds baby them because they are cute, but I want them to get the help they need to speak normally.
"The boys just enjoy each other's company and love to be together, they are always laughing together. They have a real bond which, I suppose, is emphasised by their language.
"We have managed to pick out a few words that they use in attempting to speak to us. They do try to speak English and can even say some words, but the boys cannot say sentences and any attempt at a sentence will include about three words that you don't understand.
"I even find it hard to understand what they are trying to say but I can manage to get by by filling in the gaps. Luke says more words than Jack. But the reality of the matter is that they will need to speak properly to be able to get on in life."
Hayley realised how far behind the twins were in speech when she noticed Ben was speaking more clearly than they were. She added: "It is odd to see how much Ben is coming along and how he interacts with his brothers. I was scared his speech may be affected too, but all seems fine."
Jane Denton, director of the Multiple Births Foundation, said speech development problems were common for twins because they were often born prematurely. But she said: "It is rare for four-year-olds to continue speaking their own language. Most will have grown out of it by that age as they start conversing with adults and start going to school. The mum is right to be concerned but it sounds like she is doing the right things to correct their speech."
Silent Twins
Two sisters who became known as the Silent Twins for refusing to communicate with anyone but themselves were the subject of television documentaries in the 1980s. June and Jennifer Gibbons, who developed their unique language, were sent to Broadmoor in 1982 after a six-week spree of arson, theft and vandalism in their home town of Haverfordwest, Dyfed. Jennifer died when she was 29 after which June began to show remarkable improvement and started to adjust to the idea of an independent life.
Double speak
In a new world of words
When Luke and Jack sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star they make the sounds
De da de da de da dar
Other words they commonly use are:
Wawa for granddad
Nite for nice
Checha for tuna
T-har for T-shirt
Tair for chair
Teddy for telly
Money for mummy
Tee for cheese
Hup for cup
Dida Pat for Postman Pat.
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