On our Facebook page I have posted about Leah’s Apraxia, but on May 14th, it was Apraxia Awareness Day! So, like many families who have a loved ones with apraxia I wanted to share some awareness and understanding on what apraxia is.
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder that makes it difficult for children to speak. Children with the diagnosis of apraxia of speech generally have a good understanding of language and know what they want to say. However, they have difficulty learning or carrying out the complex sequenced movements that are necessary for intelligible speech.
Leah has been in speech therapy for years, this past year we have increased her time with her private speech therapist she is now going 3 times a week. They work on strengthening her jaw, she’s learning how to properly place her tongue on the roof of her mouth, and they are most recently they have been working on her L sounds. For years Leah would call herself Eah, because it was difficult for her to say Leah.
Something that I want everyone to know about my daughter, is that although she has a hard time communicating, her words often does not come out clear, and she has a hard time in social situations. I would like everyone to know that even though the odds have been stacked up against her, she has never given up, she is truly my inspiration. We are always encouraging her, giving her praise and we celebrate when she does not give up!
Let’s just imagine if we went a day without our voices and we had a difficult time communicating would you find yourself wanting to give up? Would you be frustrated? Misunderstood?
So, with that in perspective, if you meet a child who needs a little extra support, some prompting, or just the beginning sound of a word... just know they are aware of their surroundings; they are listening to everything that you have to say. Let us not treat people like they are any less than a person because they have a difficult time communicating.
Today is a good reminder that we need awareness, acceptance and understanding because you never realize that something like speaking comes to us so naturally, it may not be the case for those who have apraxia.
There is so much more that we all need to learn about apraxia, as I am constantly learning about it and how I can properly support my daughter.
