Boy thrown off Tate Modern balcony starting to speak again, say family

‘Most of the time we have to guess what he means but it’s better and better,’ says family

A six-year-old boy who was thrown from a 10th-floor viewing platform at the Tate Modern gallery in London has regained the ability to speak, his family have said.

The French child, who cannot be named because of his age, was critically injured after plunging five storeys in August and spent months in intensive care.

He was hurled from the viewing platform by autistic teenager Jonty Bravery, then aged 17, who admitted attempted murder earlier this month.

The six-year-old's family, who were on holiday when he was attacked, said he was making “wonderful progress” and has managed to pronounce “one syllable after another”.

“Our little knight begins to speak,” they said in a message posted on an online fundraising page which has raised more than €169,000 (£143,500) for the boy’s treatment.

“He pronounces one syllable after another, not all of them, and most of the time we have to guess what he means but it’s better and better.”

They said the boy, who suffered a bleed on the brain as well as fractures to his spine, legs and arms, has also started to move all of his limbs again.

“It is very difficult to see it concerning his left arm and hand, but it’s really slowly beginning to move,” they added.

“As he begins to move, sensations come back and he feels more pain, above all during the night, which is very exhausting for everybody, but he is very courageous and we stay strong for him.”

Doctors said it was remarkable the boy had survived the fall.

Bravery, now 18, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey in February. The teenager said at the time of the attack that he wanted to highlight his frustrations with his mental health care.