Parker was diagnosed with CAS at the age of 3-years-old. He started early intervention at 15 months and has been in therapy ever since. He was nonverbal until he was age 3, had an AAC device for a short time, and has received therapy up until October 2024.  In October, he completed his final speech session as it is time for him to “graduate.” He has received OT, PT, vision therapy, and speech therapy.

Jena Becker was his amazing speech language pathologist at Kids Can Do and she has shared her expertise in working with Parker for the past five and a half years. She diagnosed him and helped us get the answers we needed to help Parker find his voice.

When he was younger, he was in a self-contained EC program for preschool, blended for the second year of preschool, and in a regular education program from kindergarten through present day (He is now in third grade). I never thought this day would come.

It’s been a rollercoaster of emotion as all we know is therapy. He has received therapy every single week (minus sickness, cancellation, Covid, or on hold for insurance). He has been dismissed from PT for a while now, OT for a little over a year, and vision therapy for the past few months. Parker is an incredibly hard worker!

For six years now, we have participated in the Chicago Walk for Apraxia. We have raised over $1,000 and were a part of the Champions Club for at least two of the years, but have continued to raise over $500 each year after that. Every year, we also attend the Village of Tinley Park board meeting as they have proclaimed May 14th as Apraxia Awareness Day.  We appreciate being able to celebrate Parker’s success and recognize his accomplishments while raising awareness so future Apraxia Stars have access to resources and appropriate treatment options.

I don’t know what the future holds for Parker. He must work hard at all he does. He used to make noises for his words, and now, you wouldn’t even know he has been receiving therapy for as long as he has. I have full intentions of continuing to raise awareness as this is very important to me. My Facebook post has over 200 likes and a ton of positive comments. I want to give hope to others and to show that with therapy, support, time, and patience, that the hard work will show. I’ve always wondered if Parker would “graduate.” It’s extremely emotional for me to think about it and to think that he DID it. Parker DID it!

Even at 8 and a half years old, he cried last night. Unless people live the journey, they don’t understand. I’ve been fortunate to talk to someone recently who has a 3-year-old son and was recently diagnosed, and she said that our story is inspiring. I spoke to someone else who said her daughter has apraxia and we texted back and forth and she couldn’t believe all that Parker has gone through. Parker’s Pack (our Walk for Apraxia team name) has a lot of love behind it and there are people who continue to donate each year as they know how important Apraxia Kids is to us and how hard Parker has worked. Thank you for your time and consideration. I have full intentions of continuing to raise awareness with our village and each year by filing for a proclamation. I previously helped Jena with the Chicago Walk for Apraxia and that was a wonderful experience.

Parker will continue to be the apraxia star that he is!  He wanted to share a message of hope with all those out there who are on this journey.  Make sure you watch it with your special Apraxia Star.

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