The gift of voice

So I'm wondering how in the world a child can talk for so long and not have a sore throat, be hoarse or lose their voice. Fourteen months ago, I would never had believed that I had a chatterbox on my hands. I mean today our little Maya just doesn't stop talking. From the moment she wakes up till she goes to bed at night it is constant talking; mommy this... and mommy that... ALL DAY LONG! For those of you who don't know, Maya was a late talker, barley said a word before the age of three. We were very concerned and turned to family, friends and eventually the "experts". Friends and family would often try to comfort us telling us that it would come and that we had to just be patient. But between the ages of 2 and 3 1/2 we were baffled and couldn't understand why her "voice" hadn't developed. The "experts" were also very concerned. One particular specialist suggested that Maya was "on the autism spectrum scale". This of course not only terrified us but confused us as well for Maya showed no signs of autism. Well if that specialist could only see Maya now! Not only is she talking all the time, she is doing incredibly well in school. I met with Maya's teachers last week for her mid-year conference and they said that she was performing above average and they boasted about the 100% she got on her phonics work. We are so very proud of her. So even though there are times that my head feels like it is about to explode from the constant questions and statements, we have truly embraced her voice as the wonderful gift that it is.