Matthew is my handsome son who loves to SMILE and give hugs! He is fighting to find his voice due to Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). CAS is a neurologically based motor-speech disorder and causes children to have difficulty making sounds, syllables, and words. The brain knows what it wants to say, but there is a problem getting the signals needed to move the child’s lips, jaw, and tongue in order to produce speech. Children with CAS require frequent and intensive speech therapy designed to improve the planning, sequencing, and coordination of movements for speech.
Matthew was diagnosed when he was 2. The year prior to his diagnosis he was in the Waukesha birth-3 program for a "speech delay". Matthew, now 9 years old continues with speech therapy and special education services. He has attended an Early Childhood Education program for special needs in Muskego and is currently in fourth grade. Matthew has made HUGE gains in his progress! Imagine having something to say and you know what you want to say but your mind just can't get those words to your mouth to say them. All of these things are trapped. Children with Apraxia are smart children, which makes this disorder very frustrating for them! People can't understand them, people judge them, and people don't have patience for them.
Imagine being told your sweet, little child may never speak well enough for others to understand. Or even worse, imagine being a child with so much to say but no one can understand you. I along with his siblings Brandon, Zachary, and Savanna, family members, and friends will be honoring Matthew by creating a team MARCHING FOR MATTHEW for CAS on Saturday, September 10th at 9:00 in Mineral Point. This walk raises awareness and money for research, to help educate Wisconsin about what Apraxia is, and to bring our community together. We want to educate Wisconsin and our community on these sweet little angels with Apraxia so they can be better understood. CASNA is also an organization supporting children with apraxia and Matthew was the recipient of an IPAD through a grant that was written for him in 2013. We would love your support to help raise awareness of Apraxia by joining our team and marching with us or through making a donation! There will be activities, raffle baskets, and more!
Sincerely, Linda Landis