Dear Friends,

It is hard to believe summer is coming to an end and fall is just around the corner. As we kick off the month of September, we have a lot to share with our entire community. Our first Walk for Apraxia events kick off this weekend and we cannot wait to celebrate all of our Apraxia Stars! With September being Friendship Month, you can do your part by inviting all of your friends to join you on Walk day! Registering for your local Walk is easy and FREE. We hope you will join us this fall to celebrate your Star and connect with other families in the community who are on a similar journey. It is not too late to join a Walk and raise $50 to earn the official Walk for Apraxia t-shirt designed by two of our Apraxia Stars!

This month also kicks off our annual National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSHLA) Chapter Challenge! The top three NSSLHA Chapters that register AND raise the most funds for the Walk for Apraxia by December 31st will win an exclusive 60-minute lecture via Zoom about childhood apraxia of speech presented by an SLP who has expertise in CAS and a parent of a child with apraxia. Learn more about this challenge by viewing our flyer and registering your team today!

With our kids heading back to the classroom this month, Apraxia Kids recognizes the need for resources focused on back to school and IEPs. Be sure to check out our Back to School blog along with our IEP Roadmap. This interactive tool helps families navigate school-based services so their child can receive appropriate services. In addition, our Classroom Awareness Be the Voice kit provides resources to help explain CAS to your child’s classmates to ease the transition to a new school year.

The Speech Tablets for Apraxia applications will open on September 16. Each year, Apraxia Kids awards speech tablets to children and families in need throughout the USA and Canada. Children with apraxia can use these speech tablets as a speech-generating device and/or for speech practice. If your family is in need of a speech tablet, we encourage you to apply here after September 16. If you know of someone who would benefit from this program, please share the link with them.

Apraxia Kids would not be able further our mission without the support of all of our friends! As our friend, we hope that you will join us at a local Walk this fall, share our resources and website, and our IEP Roadmap, Insurance Advocacy Guide, and Parent Portal with families in your community who are on an apraxia journey. Spreading awareness and sharing these resources will empower our families to become a better advocate for their Apraxia Star!

Your financial support allows us to continue to develop new resources. We are pleased to announce the launch of our new University Curriculum. This FREE program provides 3 hours of learning modules to University programs that teach graduate students foundational information about CAS and gives numerous resources to obtain even more evidence-based information. University faculty can incorporate the modules into their class in a variety of ways so that students will enter schools, clinics, and hospitals with information to assess and treat CAS. This initiative was developed due to the huge number of students graduating from their speech pathology training program without basic knowledge about CAS.

Thank you for your commitment to Apraxia Kids. Your continued support allows us to make a significant impact creating new programs and resources for our entire apraxia community.

Angela Grimm
Executive Director