2017 Inland Empire Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech

Corona, CA – 2017 Inland Empire Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech is scheduled for October 7th, 2017 at Promenade Park in Corona, California.

My name is Kara and my son EJ is 4 years old and two years ago was diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech. EJ has a hard time with motor planning, meaning he understands everything, he even knows exactly what the words he would like to say sound like, but somewhere in that little brain of his there’s a misfire and the muscles in his mouth cannot make the sounds. He is literally trapped in his own brain, desperate to tell me what he wants but totally and completely incapable of even calling out my name.

Besides being unable to verbally communicate, EJ is your typical 4 year old boy who loves cars, trucks and playing outside.  He understands every spoken word and is very bright.  EJ is a fighter and each day while working with multiple therapists he tries his hardest to do something that comes so easily to most: speak.  However, there is no doubt in my mind one day EJ will find his voice with the proper intensive speech therapy that is required.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a serious neurological disorder that effects a child’s ability to speak or produce sounds or syllables. It also effects motor skills and motor planning. It is considered rare among speech  disorders in children and particularly challenging to overcome.  When we first got the diagnosis we felt like we had nowhere to turn and were very much alone. Since then, it has been my mission to raise awareness for apraxia, educate others, and raise funds to support research and therapy costs in which all children with this disorder desperately need.

This years walk is such an important way to not only celebrate our apraxia stars but to also accomplish all of the things I mention above. The walk on Oct. 7th will feature family fun activities for all children, a food truck, a silent auction and more.  All funds raised before, during and after the walk will go directly to the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA), the only national 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity exclusively dedicated to children with apraxia of speech and their families.