Denver Apraxia Festival!
The Denver Fall Apraxia Festival is coming back this October 7th 2023. This event is a fundraising event to benefit The Apraxia Foundation, a newer 501(c)3 founded by an individual with CAS named Jordan Levan. Since I came on the apraxia scene back in 2012 when my daughter Ashlynn was first diagnosed, I have seen the culture around apraxia change, and for the better!
When Ashlynn was first diagnosed, I attended and even coordinated numerous walks for apraxia. Something that was always noticeably missing was the presence of older kids. There was plenty of young children but the attendance for tweens and teens was almost non existent. During my time as a coordinator, I would seek out older tweens/teens to be a guest speaker in hopes of drawing more older children; yet the events largely remained child centered.
Since Jordan came on the scene in 2019, confidently and unapologetically owning his apraxia, more tweens, teens, and young adults have “come out of the shadows” to do the same. The festivals were a conception designed by Jordan where he wanted to celebrate each individual with apraxia and have a “party.” Embedded in the event would be this idea of being proud of having apraxia and allowing a space where no one felt that they had to mask and could be their authentic self in a fun, accepting environment.
Last year, my dream of having older kids and younger kids at an apraxia event came true! The Denver Fall Festival brought in around 250 people with a mix of younger AND older kids. The legendary DJ Archie was definitely a BIG hit. Just look at these cuties with CAS!
Since my daughter was first diagnosed, I also always had a dream of having a spokesperson for apraxia. This dream is what caused me to hunt down Ronda Rousey, go viral, and make Good Morning America. Though that was great for awareness, no one seemed interested in being a spokesperson for apraxia. No on that is, until Jordan. Jordan’s social media grew at an exponential rate and he has written three, wildly successful children’s books! He founded The Apraxia Foundation with his core principles of apraxia pride and acceptance.
I’m so proud to support Jordan and everything he is doing to help others in the apraxia community. He is truly and inspiration and proof our children with apraxia can grow up and achieve all of their goals WITH apraxia. At the festival, Jordan made sure to talk to each and every child with apraxia and give them a heartfelt, personalized message of encouragement. It was truly touching and humbling to watch. Jordan has said he wanted to be who he needed when he was younger, and he is definitely the living embodiment of that.
Since Jordan has put himself out there, so many other young adults have been inspired to do the same with many reporting they used to feel ashamed they didn’t “grow” out of their childhood apraxia of speech.
I can’t wait to see the magic again this year, October 7th in Centennial, Colorado! See you all there!
