Meghan Finn, A Story Of Tenacity
Meghan Finn’s story proves that the limitations imposed by nature are not an obstacle to leading a life of great achievement and accomplishment. Meghan suffers from a genetic alteration known as “Williams Syndrome”, a disorder that occurs in one in every 20,000 newborns. It consists of the lack of 20 genes, on the long arm of chromosome 7.
The consequence of this deficiency is that those who suffer from it also have deficiencies in cardiac and cognitive development. They are people who have difficulty learning. They have a hard time developing abstract thinking and show deficiencies in spatial reasoning. This puts your IQ 35 points below 100, on standardized measurements on this scale.
By compensation, those who suffer from Williams Syndrome tend to have a particular disposition for music. That is the case of Meghan, who from a very young age followed the melody of the songs and repeated them with her ear on a piano. Music attracted her powerfully and not only brought her serenity, but it was also her great resource for expressing herself.
Fortunately, her parents were always attentive to all the paths that could contribute to improving the girl’s abilities and living conditions. Her mother, Liz Costello, had been informed of the disorder by doctors, when Meghan was just 18 months old. They also warned her that her daughter would likely suffer facial deformations as she grew older.
For any father or mother in the world, such a diagnosis is deeply painful. The Finns were basically forced to assimilate that Meghan would suffer limitations for life and that, eventually, she would also be affected by physical deformities. Still, these particular parents were willing to fight.
Liz Costello enrolled her daughter in a special education school. But she also made her participate in regular school, because she was convinced that the girl would learn a lot by observing the other children and the teacher. Meghan had ups and downs in the middle grades, but thanks to the support, psychotherapy and massages, she regained her enthusiasm.
People with Williams Syndrome have a contrasting personality with cognitive limitations. In general they are very sociable and outgoing. They tend to have great linguistic ability and love to converse with others. But at the same time they have difficulty interpreting the signals emitted by their interlocutors. They are unable to recognize an angry or rejecting attitude. For them, the person in front of them is always friendly.
They live in the paradox of perceiving the social environment as a reality in which no one is a stranger. But at the same time, it is practically impossible for them to establish a true friendship, since they are unable to fully recognize the subjectivity of others.
Counting on all this, Meghan Finn and her parents looked for outlets and found them. During a music course, Professor Howard Lenhoff indicated that the girl’s voice was very beautiful and should be used. This is how Meghan sealed a definitive pact with the wonderful world of music.
Between 1997 and 1999 she managed to live alone, away from her parents, thanks to a special program at National Louis University in Illinois. But that is not all. He is currently a true star of the song within the “Williams World”. He recorded a CD and has had hundreds of performances on stage. He collaborates with charity parties and entertains the audience with his stories every time he takes the microphone.
She and her mother are frequently invited by various institutions to speak about this journey, in which they have shown their tenacity. Meghan finally did not suffer any deformation on her face and today she is a 30-year-old woman who feels the same as people called “normal”. At the end of the day, life is about everyone doing the best possible with the resources that nature grants at birth. And Meghan made it.
