Dear Friends,

February is the bridge between cold and dark winter days and the anticipation of spring. As we kick off a new month, Apraxia Kids continues to give hope to our families who are on their apraxia journey and provide opportunities to find hope through all of the programs, services, and resources we provide.

This Black History Month, we are committed to sharing resources, perspectives, and learning opportunities with our community. As an organization whose mission is to ensure every child finds their voice, we want to make sure that means every child and family have access to the appropriate diagnosis, treatment, support, and resources.

Walk for Apraxia registration will be opening this month. You can participate in the Walk in various ways, such as registering for free and fundraising to earn one of our incentives (including the official Walk for Apraxia t-shirt), showcasing your business by sponsoring a local Walk, or volunteering your time to plan a local Walk event. Without the continued support of each of you, our Walks would not be possible. Visit our Walk for Apraxia Home Page for more details on how you can get involved.

Funding from the Walks supports us in providing evidence based education, which is an ongoing goal of Apraxia Kids. We are pleased to offer a free series of lectures for our apraxia community as part of our Virtual Education Series! This series will consist of four lectures for parents and caregivers and four lectures for Speech-Language Pathologists and Speech-Language Pathology Assistants. These lectures cover a range of topics, including introductory information about childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), treatment and diagnosis of CAS, strategies for home practice, advocacy, and more. All lectures are available for continuing education credits.

In addition, we continue to plan for our National Conference, taking place July 6-8th in Plano, Texas. Our conference brings together families and professionals to learn about all aspects affecting the child and family on their apraxia journey. New this year, we will offer several sessions about working with children who communicate in languages other than/or in addition to English. Registration will open in March, so keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks. To stay up-to-date on all details of this event, follow our Facebook Event Page. Apraxia Kids will once again be offering a limited number of financial scholarships to aid those who may not otherwise be able to access this valuable learning opportunity. The conference scholarship application is open until February 24th, with decisions coming in early March.

As our staff continues to plan for 2023, Apraxia Awareness Month is quickly approaching! Visit our Proclamations webpage to fill out a form to file a proclamation in your area to declare May 14 Apraxia Awareness Day! Be the Voice kits provide additional resources for fundraising and awareness events. Our voices need to be louder than ever, spreading awareness about childhood apraxia of speech and Apraxia Kids!

Without the support of the entire community, Apraxia Kids would not be able to reach our goal of every child finding their voice. Together, we can further our mission to serve more families and educate more professionals. We hope you will continue to share our resources with a new family or SLP, join us for one of our upcoming events, and spread awareness this May! Your continued support gives hope to new families as they embark on the apraxia journey. We thank you for your continued commitment.

Warmest Regards,

Angela Grimm
Executive Director