Before every word she utters, 10-year-old Angie pauses to think about how she needs to form her mouth to articulate it.
She and her mother, Julia Borizki, have been working to increase awareness about her condition, called childhood apraxia of speech (CAS).
“We take it for granted how we can just talk, but for a child with apraxia, they have to pause and think about every word that they're going to say in forming it with their mouth. It just takes a lot of time,” Borizki said.
Newmarket has joined the growing list of municipalities across Ontario to proclaim an official day for the awareness of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), a speech disorder present from birth.
The inaugural Apraxia Awareness Day in Newmarket will take place May 14.
Borizki, an early learning specialist, led the charge in launching the awareness day, along with Ward 6 Councillor Kelly Broome.
May is recognized as Apraxia Awareness Month, and for Borizki, devoting an entire day to apraxia is an opportunity to inform parents and residents about the disorder.
Children with apraxia generally have a solid comprehension of language, but struggle with the movements made while talking. According to Kids Apraxia, it affects one in 1,000 children.
“We've been touched by apraxia since my daughter was diagnosed at the age of three,” said Borizki.
“I've always heard of people doing proclamations in their communities, and bringing more awareness and I thought, you know, this is the year.”
Borizki reached out to Broome for direction in turning the idea into a reality. Broome immediately became excited by the proposal.
“I'm working really hard to try to bring positivity to our community,” said Broome on the new awareness day. “When I saw Julia’s request for the proclamation, I just thought that was a great opportunity.”
Angie is now of the age where she recognizes the importance of creating awareness around childhood apraxia. This year, Angie will give out cards in her classroom during school that will contain a description of the disorder. Borizki is very proud of her daughter’s efforts to bring attention to apraxia.
Borizki and Broome want parents to understand that an apraxia diagnosis does not mean their child is condemned to a life of hardship. Borizki also does not want parents to place the blame on themselves for why their child may not be progressing at the same rate as other children. There are resources available and it is a disorder that can be managed with the right approach.
“It’s something that doesn't go away on its own and it does require therapy,” said Broome, “I think it's important that parents like Julia push to make sure that they get that diagnosis, so they understand it and they can start their journey.”
Borizki not only wants to help new families with the journey of dealing with apraxia, but also help the community to become more accepting of kids like Angie- who sometimes struggle to demonstrate their intelligence because of how they speak.
“I feel like sometimes as a parent of a child who has a learning disability or any kind of disability you're so focused on teaching your child to fit into the community, said Borizki, “but where is the portion from the rest of the community?.”
In Borizki’s opinion, Canada is much more accepting of children with disabilities than other countries, but organizations that provide help can only offer so many resources to the growing list of families dealing with apraxia.
She said she was fortunate to be able to afford private speech therapy for Angie, but that is not possible for all families. She hopes that in the future, more funding will be made available to families with apraxia.
On May 13, the Newmarket Riverwalk Common lights will shine blue in honour of children like Angie who have apraxia. For Borizki and Broome, it is a glimmer of hope.
For more information about apraxia and how you can provide support, visit Apraxia-Kids.org.