Support Monica's Journey to Childhood Apraxia Conference

Hello! My Name is Monica. I'm starting this Gofundme to attend the 20th Anniversary "Apraxia Kids National Conference" July 11-13, 2024 in Pittsburgh, PA. Funds will be used for travel expenses, learning software, further education & raising awareness. I'm a 45-year-old mother of 4; 27, 25, 15yo girls & 3yo son Luca. I'm a stay at home mom with MS who cares for not only my son but also the children I babysit at my in-home daycare. I love children and all the joy they bring. I also volunteer in the nursery at my church; The Amazing Cathedral Of Worship here in Quincy.

Having a healthy little boy was the greatest blessing I could hope for at my age and I was more than excited to start the journey of motherhood all over again! I wanted to do all that I could to be the best mother I possibly could be. Joined Parents As Teachers, made most of his food from scratch, organic baby food, no added sugar or dyes; the list goes on. All of this, knowing that the 1st 1000 days of a child's life is the most important when it comes to nutrition. But with already having children and babysitting for many years, I noticed something was different very early on; I knew that he had Autism. This was met with much resistance from some of those closest to us but I refused to let up. His pediatrician had him evaluated and he was officially diagnosed with ASD and a speech language disorder. As heartbreaking as it was, I was ready to face it head-on! I knew that early intervention was needed and the earlier we started, the better the chances he had of becoming the best Luca he could be! He’s an intelligent, inquisitive and beautiful little boy who LOVES cars & trucks!

So we started speech and developmental therapy which he loves! He's also in ABA Therapy as well. He's had the same DT from day one but he's been through several SLP's. He said a few words later as a toddler than stopped (which is common in ASD). The last two SLP's suspected he has Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) but due to nearly no spoken words at the time, they couldn't say for sure but now we know and It's a hard pill to swallow! With that being said, I'm ready to take this challenge on as well!

CAS is a rare neurological speech disorder that affects a child's ability to produce speech; it's a life long condition. "CAS makes it difficult for children to plan and coordinate the movements of their lips, tongue, jaw, and palate to produce speech sounds and words. Children with CAS may know what they want to say and be able to move their face and mouth normally for eating and facial expressions. However, they may have trouble separating sounds within syllables.

CAS can cause problems for children, including:

Difficulty getting their needs and wants met

Frustration for the child and family

Difficulty making friends or playing with other children

Increased risk of problems with reading and writing

This is going to be a lifelong journey filled with ups & downs but I'm going to be Luca's voice until he fully has his own!