Big sister uses music to teach brother with Down syndrome his first word: 'Happy'

Bo Gray wasn't expected to start talking for a few more years, but his big sister Lydia changed all that.

Bo, 2, has Down syndrome, and his parents, Amanda Bowman Gray and Caleb Gray, were told he likely wouldn't say his first word until well after his third birthday. Bo was born with heart and lung issues, and has had to undergo several procedures. Before heart surgery in 2016, the Grays sang "You Are My Sunshine" to Bo in the hospital, and Lydia, 11, revived the tradition last fall, picking up her guitar and singing the song to Bo multiple times a day.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.