By Leslie Lindsay
The day was sunny and brisk. Parents, children, coffee andclowns filled the pavilion. Yep. I am talking about the 3rd annual CASANA Chicagoland Walk for Apraxia. If you have never been to a walk to support a cause, this is a good one to wet your feet, so to speak.
For me, this was thefirst walk I attended—for any cause. And I was impressed and touched with the efforts that went into the day.
Here’s a run-down of the walk:
- We arrived a bit “late,” meaning we missed the breakfast and social gathering….but that didn’t mean we went hungry!
- With so many vendors to choose from such Starbucks, Jewel, Matt’s Cookies, and organic foods we were able to grab a sample and a coupon and have breakfast.
- We were greeted by Holly Olmsted-Hickey, head of the Windy City Apraxia Network, www.groups.yahoo.com/group/windycityapraxia/ who welcomed all 300+ walkers.
- Overall, the donations amounted to around $19,000 for CAS education, research,and awareness. Wow. That’s HUGE!
- Afterwards, we donned our bright orange tee-shirts (good October color…must have had Halloween in mind!) and headed over for a group photo.
- The walk itself was short and sweet, leading us along a smooth, flat trail and ending (at least for us) at the old-fashioned Matt’s Cookies fire truck.
- But I made some connections…a family who drove up from St. Louis (with ties inChi-town) with their little girl, Isabella who has recovering CAS. Uh…go Cards (don’t shoot me, Cubbies. I sort of have loyalties to both teams, having grown up in St. Louis). And another group of walkers who, like me had never heard of apraxia until their
child was diagnosed. Hummm…that’s beginning to sound really familiar.
- We played, we chatted, we had our faces painted, warmed ourselves by the fire blazing in the shelter fireplace, grabbed a balloon or two, dropped our names
in raffles, and then got ill due to too much spinning on the nearby playequipment.
- Note: My daughter was smart—leading us to believe her “queasy feeling” was from over-stimulation from crowds, music, and
attention on apraxia. (she does have a mild sensory integration disorder), but in the end, after vomiting in the car, she told us she had gotten too dizzy on the playground equipment.
- Overall, barf and all…it was a good time and well worth the effort!
For more information on the Windy City Apraxia Network,
please email apraxiamoms@yahoo.com or check ‘em out on Facebook, Windy City/Chicagoland Apraxia Network
Leslie A. Lindsay| Writer & Creative 
I wish I could of been there, just too many things going on! Did I ever share the pictures from our walk in MI?
Courtney–we would have loved to have seen you and your adorable family–but you have done wonderful with your own Michiagn walk. I’d love to see photos!! Send ’em on to leslie_lindsay@hotmail.com
Thank you, Leslie, for your kind comments about the walk and for joining us on such a beautiful Saturday. I’m glad you and your family enjoyed yourselves. I’m happy to report that we had more than 340 walkers and raised more than $25,000 on behalf of the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA), a national organization dedicated to specifically to childhood apraxia of speech issues. Donations will benefit programs for CASANA such as research grants, an apraxia registry program, apraxia boot camps for speech & language pathologists, and a newly developed iPad program. We were also pleased that we could raise Chicagoland area awareness of apraxia and associated issues. Those interested in learning more about our group are welcome to e-mail me at chicagoapraxia@comcast.net or join our group on Facebook at Windy City/Chicagoland Apraxia Network. Thanks again, Leslie, for joining us.
Yes you are welcome, Holly! It was a fantastic event and a great day for it. I am so proud of the apraxia community for pulling together to increase awareness about this complex speech disorder. You all at Windy City did a super job orchestrating everything.