NORWALK, Iowa —

A Norwalk woman who lost her ability to speak to ALS got it back in an unexpected way.

Robin Leaper was diagnosed with ALS, or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in 2023. Since then, she's struggled with muscle weakness, difficulty eating, and she's no longer able to speak.

It's been an adjustment, to say the least.

"For the first year, I couldn't even say ALS without crying," she said.

When she was diagnosed, she was the the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Norwalk.

Since then, she's tried to communicate in other ways, like text-to-speech software or sign language, but neither one has allowed her to use her own voice.

Until the city's Marketing and Communications Specialist, Tai Lieu, came in.

Lieu combed through hours of public meeting recordings in which

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