Apraxia Monday: Being Thankful
By Leslie Lindsay As I sit back and think of all of the things I am thankful this past year, I am particularly thankful for a 2nd grader who has come so far on her apraxia journey. It was nearly five years ago this month that we learned Kate had severe childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). I was in complete and utter denial. I didn’t know what apraxia was, let alone what it meant for my daughter–and the countless other children who also have the diagnosis. But I do now. It was 2007. We were visiting with family in St. Louis for the holiday. At the annual turkey dinner, I was chatting with one of my cousin-in-laws when she asked how the girls were doing. She nodded, jutting her chin in their direction. A mass of redheaded (2nd) cousins wrestled and played, appropriately so in the so-called “conversation pit” of the family’s ranch home. Only Kate wasn’t conversing. She was, in fact smiling and laughing and grunting. She had no words. Or, at least very few of …