It’s been over eleven years identifying as a parent to a child diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech. I’ll never forget that fateful day. I missed her apraxia as an infant, despite being a speech/language pathologist before she was born. I knew she was delayed. Oh yes, I was keenly aware of it. Every well-check visit the list of milestones she was meeting grew shorter and shorter. I worked with
Poke-a-dot books I am absolutely OBSESSED with the Poke-a-Dot books! I recently had a few new clients with a high interest in dinosaurs, so I knew the Poke-a-Dot dinosaour book was a MUST have for the clinic. While I was at it, I decided to also “add to cart” the Poke-a-Dot Old MacDonald and the Poke-a-Dot Goodnight Animals. You can never have too much of a good thing right? If
We are currently in the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic. I think it’s week 4. I’m not sure. Time blurs. I was feeling it yesterday. The weight of it all. Not being able to leave the house. All the closures. Working from home while teaching my children and doing their assignments with them. The unknown about when this will end. All the cancelled events. I wrote last night I
At the beginning of 2020, the world received word that world famous basketball player Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash with his daughter Gianna. After his death, people were chanting and hashtagging #mambamentality. Though I had heard of the “Black Mamba” and the “mamba mentality,” in relationship to Kobe, I have never followed professional basketball that closely, and didn’t really know the origin of the phrases or what they
I have faith though that this next decade will be one of overcoming! I know ten years from now I’m going to be writing another success and triumph story, much like I did in the book I published this year called “Overcoming Apraxia.” I also want this next decade to be one of exponential growth in apraxia awareness and information so all children have the access to the best therapy.
Almost seven years ago to the day, before my daughter Ashlynn’s 3rd birthday, I received news so significant, my life has never been the same. Though devastating at the time, the life lessons I have learned from it have far outnumbered any loss. What was this news? My daughter Ashlynn was diagnosed with one of the most severe neurological speech disorders in children. It is called “childhood apraxia of speech