“Do I sound like a snake?” Jaxon Hansen asked as he hissed a streaming “s” sound.
“Now you try. Heather says you have to make your teeth like this,” he instructed, using his mouth to show me the right position.
Heather is Jaxon’s speech therapist, and Jaxon visits her at least once a week.
At five years old, Jaxon’s favorite sport is baseball, he loves math problems and his favorite color is orange. His wardrobe consists of basketball jerseys, jeans he’s constantly outgrowing and a leather jacket of which he’s extremely proud. Jaxon is a diehard fan of the Utah Utes and Toy Story, and his playroom is full of dinosaurs and racecars. He won’t leave the house unless his brown hair is spiked like Daddy’s, and he’ll be the first to let you know how strong he’s gotten lately.
At 46 inches, Jaxon is tall for his age. Watching him shoot hoops in the backyard, chasing the rebounds every which way, one has to wonder if this kid ever runs out of energy.
“Come shoot with me!” Jaxon called toward the house.
It sounded a little more like “thoot” and “wif,” though.
Such sounds are a struggle to pronounce with a mouth under construction like Jaxon’s is.
Born with a unilateral cleft lip and pallet, Jaxon’s struggles are quite a bit larger than his bright character and enthusiasm let on.
