By Leslie Lindsay

It’s been a long time coming.  This apraxia thing is wearing me out.  Here’s the deal:  when my daughter wasn’t talking like every other Carson, Chloe, and Caden I was beside myself.  When I was told by the first SLP who saw her that she had “a delay,” I was scratching my head…well of course, she does, but what do we do about it?  When I was told by the second SLP that she had childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), I wanted to know what the heck is that?!  And then I wanted a book about apraxia–a real book that I could hold in my hands and reference when I felt like I needed it.  I didn’t want to sift through everything on the Internet (now isn’t that ironic?!)

And now that my daughter has come a long way from when she was first diagnosed, I am still eating, thinking, and breathing apraxia.  I get emails about it, I send emails about it, I get connected to others all around the globe (via listservs), and I teach classes about in the evenings.  And yes, I am writing a book about it, too.

I’m excited; it has been something I have always wanted to do: write.  So I am writing a book about the very disorder that my daugter has.  I hope it brings some peace to families out there struggling with the unknowns that I was once dealing with.  And trust me, even though I am soon to have “author” under my belt, I sure don’t feel like an expert.  You see, there is so much about CAS that is still being understood.  It’s a complex diagnosis with no real clear answers.  Even the experts seem to disagree at times.  There are multiple viewpoints, treatments, theories, and well…I could go on and on….

So, in essence I have taken a risk.  A risk to learn and educate others who care about a child with apraxia.  I have stuck my neck out and I might get it wrong (I sure hope not!) but most of all, I did it to help my daughter and myself deal with the complexities we call childhood apraxia of speech (CAS).

Coming in “Apraxia World”

• Chicgaoland Apraxia Walk: When you register to walk by September 26th you will receive an official 2011 Walk for Children with Apraxia t-shirt in your size and you also receive your very own Personal Walk webpage to help you raise awareness and donations! Below are the details of the Walk:

Date:Saturday, October 15, 2011

Time: On-site Check-in and Registration begins at 9:00 AM
Walk begins at 10:00 AM

Location: Ty Warner Park, Blackhawk Drive & Plaza Drive, Westmont, IL 60559

Visit the 3rd Annual Chicagoland Walk for Children with Apraxia Webpage to register– help unlock their voices and open up the future for children with apraxia!

• INTEGRATED TREATMENT OF FEEDING, SPEECH, AND MOUTH FUNCTION IN PEDIATRICS

  www.agesandstages.net  An early intervention course for OT’s, SLP’s, educators, nurses, and others

  Instructor: Diane Bahr, MS, CCC-SLP, CIMI
  Specializing in Mouth Function

Addison, Chicago

September 30th and October 1st.