The first annual walk-a-thon for children with apraxia of speech was held in North Park, in Pittsburgh, PA on October 18, 2008. Over 340 people were in attendance on a cool fall morning and over $31,000 was raised to help the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA). Childhood apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder that causes children to have difficulty making sounds, syllables, and words. Children with apraxia of speech require frequent and intensive speech therapy designed to improve the planning, sequencing, and coordination of oral muscle movements for speech. CASANA's mission is to strengthen the support systems in the lives of children with apraxia so that each child with apraxia is afforded the best opportunity to develop speech.
Sean, a local seven year old boy who has struggled with apraxia, has participated in over 650 hours of speech therapy in the past five years. When Sean was three years old, his parents were told that he would likely never be able to talk. It took over two and a half years of intensive therapy before Sean spoke his first word. CASANA supported Sean and his family and helped Sean to unlock his voice, opening the door to his future. The walk-a-thon was Sean's idea as a way to raise money for CASANA to help other children with apraxia find their voices. The morning of the walk, Sean read a story aloud to an audience of over 300 people!
This event was sponsored by Dynavox Mayer-Johnson, a Pittsburgh company that makes augmentative and alternative communication devices. Panera Bread donated bagels and coffee, Reinhardt Food Services donated water, and Eat N Park donated Smiley Cookies for this event. Prizes were donated by Cannondale Bikes, the Steelers, the Penguins, the Pirates, the Bike Shop, and Gaetano's Restaurant.
A walk was also held in Seattle, Washington, on October 18, 2008. This walk was organized by Sean's godfather and his family, who could not attend the Pittsburgh walk, but wanted to support Sean's idea to help spread awareness about apraxia. Around 15 people walked with them and approximately $2,000 was raised for CASANA. Coffee was donated by the Fuel Coffee Shop and a beautiful fall day was enjoyed by all.
On October 26, 2008, a walk was held in Chesapeake, VA. The Chesapeake walk was sponsored by CIBA Specialty Chemicals, Aldos Restaurant, and North America Commercial Consulting Contracts. Debbie Stamp graciously donated the location for the walk. Loomis Fargo donated hotdogs, Lowes donated markers for the walking trail, Isha Foss Events donated balloons, Nona Frazier Photography did the photography, CIBA donated water, Heather Patton donated facepainting, and the Mom’s Morning parents donated drinks, raffles gifts, and desserts. The organizer of this walk, Tania Peace, does not have a child with apraxia, but she is someone that we have always considered to be a special angel in our son Sean's life. She ran a Mom's Morning Out program that Sean attended at the time that he was diagnosed with severe apraxia. She saw us struggle with getting Sean the help that he needed and she has celebrated with us as Sean began to make progress. Tania originally was planning to come to Pittsburgh to walk as part of Sean's walkathon team, but decided instead to plan a walkathon for the Chesapeake, VA area. She contacted all of the families that came to her mom's morning out program over the years and the walk was partially a reunion of these children. The Mom’s Morning children walked to raise money to donate to CASANA in Sean's honor. Ryan and Lilly, two children from the Chesapeake/VA Beach area who have apraxia, joined in the walk with their families and helped to make this event a success.