Parrot teaches boy of 4 to talk

An autistic boy who could not speak has learned his first words — with the help of his family’s pet parrot.

Dylan Hargreaves, four, has severe learning difficulties and had never uttered a single word.

But after listening to macaw Barney, he can now say “Night, night”, “Dad”, “Mum”, “Ta”, “Hello” and “Bye”.



And experts think he is close to his first two-syllable word.

Michelle reckons her son’s first two-syllable word will be Barney, because he loves his pet so much.

Speech therapist Dr Hazel Roddham of the University of Lancashire confirmed the value of learning to speak parrot-fashion.

She said: "If there’s some enjoyment, a child is more likely to learn. And presumably this parrot has attracted the boy’s attention."