Girl suffers rare genetic disorder
Updated on 26 November 2008
A mother spoke of her young daughter's struggle with a rare genetic disorder which affects only four people in the world.
Seven-year-old Millie Smith suffers from a one-in-a-billion condition which has left her trapped in the mind of a toddler.
The genetic defect, which is so rare it has not been given a name, means she will never advance beyond the emotional age of a three-year-old.
Millie was diagnosed with the disorder at 16 months old when tests revealed she had strands missing from her eighth chromosome.
There are fewer than 100 people in the world who have problems with their number-eight chromosome and only four out of about 6.5 billion people are known to be diagnosed with similar breaks and symptoms to Millie.
Her mother Alex, 37, from Gloucester, told the Western Daily Press it was not easy for her daughter, who has already started to physically out-grow her toys.
She said while Millie's friends grow up into teenagers and adults, her daughter will never tire of playing with her dolls and prams.
She said: "It's not easy for her but she's always smiling.
"She's a lovely girl but it's quite hard for children like her because even though she enjoys talking to people, sometimes they feel very awkward with her.
"She can't dress herself or do a lot of things we take for granted and because she doesn't look disabled people often don't understand why she can't respond."
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