A mother has shared what it’s like for her daughter to live with a rare developmental disorder that actor Colin Farrell’s son suffers from.
A TikTok user named Ashluv shares videos detailing the daily lives of her and her teenage daughter, Makayla.
Makayla, 16, was born with Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that occurs in about one in every 15,000 births worldwide.
The disorder, which causes developmental delays, has left the teenager unable to speak, and she only learned to walk about a year ago.
However, her mother, who has amassed more than 1.8 million followers on TikTok, calls Angelman “a very happy syndrome” and has said her daughter has beaten the odds by learning new skills every day.
This is the same condition that actor Colin Farrell revealed this week that his 20-year-old son James suffers from, and which led him to take his first steps just a few weeks ago.
A TikTok user named Ashluv shares videos of her 16-year-old daughter, Makayla, who has the genetic condition Angelman syndrome.
This week, actor Colin Farrell revealed that his 20-year-old son, James, has Angelman syndrome and took his first steps just a few weeks ago.
Angelman syndrome is a genetic disorder that occurs when the UBE3A gene, which comes from the mother, is deleted or mutated.
This affects the nervous system and causes cognitive, speech and motor delays, as well as problems walking or maintaining balance.
Parents may notice that their children fail to reach milestones such as lifting their head, walking or swallowing, and that this can lead to seizures later in childhood.
People with the condition also tend to appear happy and cheerful most of the time, something Makayla’s mother has noticed is true of the teen.
However, Angelman syndrome makes her feel overwhelmed by emotions and confused. In several videos, Makayla is seen laughing and crying at the same time.
“Makayla doesn’t speak and has Angelman syndrome, which is a very happy syndrome, but sometimes my little girl gets very emotional,” Ashluv said on A videowhere Makayla is trying to decide what she wants to eat.
“But apparently while searching for food, he forgets that he is crying and continues crying when he doesn’t find what he wants to eat.”
She is also very attached to her father and suffers from separation anxiety when he is gone. “This man is everything to her,” Ashluv said in a statement. Another video posted last month. ‘She was so mad at dad because he got off at the store without her.’
“She was so excited about him that he could never leave her.”
People with Angelman syndrome may also have autism-like symptoms, such as hand flapping and being restless or hyperactive.
Around 500,000 people worldwide suffer from Angelman syndrome. Patients have the same life expectancy as the average person, but require lifelong specialized care to help them with basic tasks.
However, some patients can acquire skills even as teenagers or adults. For example, Makayla and Farrell’s son, James, learned to walk within the last year.
Makayla gets so excited and overwhelmed that she ends up laughing and crying at the same time. Like James, she also recently learned to walk.
“I want the world to be kind to James. I want the world to treat him with kindness and respect,” Farrell, 48, told People.
in a video posted last monthAshluv showed her daughter walking around the house by herself, something she never thought she would do. “She used to be the kid on the kitchen floor who couldn’t even stand up by herself,” Ashluv said.
“She now walks around the house by herself as if she never learned to walk last year, when the doctors told us she would never be able to.”
This week, Farrell revealed his son’s diagnosis in an interview with People. “I want the world to be kind to James. I want the world to treat him with kindness and respect,” said Farrell, 48.
Colin shared that James “has worked very hard his whole life, very hard” to learn “repetition” and “balance” and improve his “jerky gait.”
He recalled: “When he first started feeding himself, his face looked like Jackson Pollock at the end. But he gets it right and feeds beautifully. I’m proud of him every day, because I think he’s magical.”
“He took his first steps about six weeks ago, and it took him four years to do so. It was a very emotional experience. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”