Dylan Hargreaves, four, is autistic and suffers severe learning difficulties. Until recently, he never uttered a single word. But several few months ago, his parents added a three-year-old blue-and-gold macaw to the family. They named him Barney, and suddenly, Dylan began to speak, repeating words that the parrot said.
After being tutored by Barney the parrot, Dylan says "Night, night", "Dad", "Mum", "Ta", "Hello" and "Bye".
"Barney has changed our lives. Before he arrived, Dylan would try to speak, but the sound came out as a noise," said Dylan's mother, Michelle.
"Barney has changed our lives. Before he arrived, Dylan would try to speak, but the sound came out as a noise," said Dylan's mother, Michelle.
"The we got Barney and, a few months later, Dylan began to talk. It was only the odd word, but I could clearly understand what he said.
"Every time I gave the bird something to say, Dylan started trying to say the same thing. I think it's because the bird says things slower than me, which helps Dylan understand.
Michelle believes that her son will soon be saying "Barney", because he loves his companion so much.
I wonder if this is a classic case of learning as espoused by Irene Pepperberg, who works with the African grey parrot, Alex? Her hypothesis is that learning is enhanced when there are two competitors who are competing to learn a word. A parrot can certainly be a suitable competitor for a child, especially an autistic one.
