According to a story from yahoo.com, a six year old boy with from Texas named Mason Motz recently began speaking for the first time after a visit to the dentist’s office. Mason was born with Sotos syndrome and had experienced some developmental delays. His parents thought that his trouble with speaking was simply something that they would have to deal with, but a visit to a specialist dentist found that he was actually tongue-tied.
About Sotos Syndrome
Sotos syndrome is a rare genetic disorder which is characterized by rapid and excessive physical growth during the first few years of life. This pattern of growth can continue into the patient’s early teenage years. Sotos syndrome has been linked to mutations of the NSD1 gene. It is generally not inherited, and the mutation tends to appear sporadically. Symptoms of this disorder include large size at birth, large head, feet, and hands, distinctive facial features, speech issues, abnormal gait, low muscle tone, developmental delays, mild intellectual disability, and autism. There is no standard of care for Sotos syndrome, and instead symptoms of the disorder are addressed as they appear. Lifespan is not normally affected. To learn more about Sotos syndrome, click here.
Tied Down
A tongue-tie, more formally known as ankyloglossia, is a condition in which a membrane keeps the tongue firmly attached to the floor of the mouth, limiting its mobility. This can cause difficulties with speech and swallowing. The tongue-tie may have been contributing to a lot of his more worrying symptoms that are connected to his Sotos syndrome. He had dental issues early on, and swallowing food safely had also been an issue for Mason. The family had also assumed that the disorder was the source of his speaking troubles, but in truth it was the tongue-tie all along. It is rare for a tongue-tie to be severe enough to considerable inhibit speech, or, as in Mason’s case, prevent it altogether.
Talk it Out
The effect of the surgery for Mason was immediately profound. Only 12 hours afterwards he was speaking as if he had always known how to. He has also managed to grow out of a lot of the problems that were plaguing him earlier. While it was necessary for Mason to get surgery in order to get normal function, some children with less severe tongue-ties will see them go away naturally as the child develops.
