BY DOUG WATSON
We built our Tualatin home in 1979 and here we raised the mother of the remarkable young man who is the hero of this story. From earliest childhood it was apparent that Jeremy was not developing as other children his age. He could not articulate words, and soon manifested learning difficulties. He even exhibited lack of coordination in sports, and was designated as a special needs child. His inability to express himself made him the butt of derision and ostracism from his peers as early as grade school. He was taken to speech therapy and was ultimately diagnosed as having dyspraxia, a condition in which the larynx, the tongue, lips and the jaws cannot respond to stimulation from the brain, making intelligible speech virtually impossible.
