Hi, my name is Adam Key. I am 22 years old and would love to share my story with the apraxia community. At one year old, I was diagnosed with apraxia and did not speak my first word until I was five. I grew up on some property outside of St. Louis, Missouri, with my parents, a younger brother, three horses, a dog, and three cats. I loved being outside and active.

While working through the challenges childhood apraxia of speech throws at you, I did not allow it to frustrate me. I became fluent in sign language and was able to communicate with others that way while working on pronunciation. My mom worked with me every day outside, which is where I learned best—hands-on and active. We would sweep the barn and work on the words related to what we were doing. For example, sw-sw-sw-sweep while sweeping the barn floors. We would also count flower petals in the garden, and I would read to our horses. We would sing as well. I also attended speech therapy until second grade, and we celebrated small wins as a family!

In second grade, I switched from a public school, which was not working for me, to a private K-12 Montessori-based school. This was life-changing for me. Not only was the education hands-on, but the teachers worked with you one-on-one. I did not feel pressured when I didn’t understand concepts. I was also able to make friends here, which had been a struggle for me earlier on. Through the years, the Montessori aspect of education became less, but it remained application-based, and the high school was a form of college prep. We even had a school makerspace, where I spent countless hours building projects for classes and working on the space itself with one of the teachers. One big part of this Montessori school was a huge emphasis on speaking in front of groups of people of all kinds: parents, other students, large and small groups of all ages. I was never self-conscious at all since Montessori catered to all ages. My confidence flourished, and I became a huge self-advocate.

I also had dyslexia, as it seems many people with apraxia do, which made things challenging. But I focused on what worked best for me, which was breaking concepts down and applying them. I learned how to use many modalities to help me on my way—computer software, reading apps, etc.

After graduating high school, I went to Wichita State University. I am currently a senior double majoring in entrepreneurship and an honors baccalaureate with emphases in digital marketing, wellness, and innovation design. I will also be adding an additional year to complete my master’s in Innovation Design.  I have had several amazing internships. I worked at Deloitte, giving presentations to Fortune 500 executives, completed a leadership internship at IMA, and currently work as a sales and community engagement associate at SweatHouz, which is a contrast therapy studio. I have found my perfect fit in college and have had a lot of success along the way, including maintaining a 3.9 GPA, being on the Dean’s Honors Roll every semester, being named a Barton School 25 under 25 student, and participating in several advisory boards and organizations.  Last summer, I backpacked across Europe by myself and took a college class for three weeks in Spain. I am now an amazing speaker, and it has been incredible to watch myself grow.

My grit, determination, and positive attitude have gotten me where I am today. I wanted to share this story as a form of hope and inspiration. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. I know some days it seems slim, but it is important to set goals and know it is possible to do anything. The challenges you are faced with only make you stronger, and how you overcome them is what defines you. I know every person can have an excellent outcome.

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