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Tinley Park designates May 14 as Apraxia Awareness Day after family testimony
Summary
The Village of Tinley Park Board of Trustees adopted a proclamation designating May 14, 2024, as Apraxia Awareness Day after a family described their child’s experience with childhood apraxia of speech and urged greater awareness and access to speech therapy.
The Village of Tinley Park Board of Trustees voted unanimously to designate May 14, 2024, as Apraxia Awareness Day, adopting a proclamation that calls for increased public awareness and support for children with childhood apraxia of speech.
The proclamation, read aloud at the meeting, says that without timely, intensive speech therapy children with apraxia face heightened risks for reading, writing and educational impacts that can affect future independence and employment. It states the village’s intent to encourage community members, physicians, educators, insurance providers, policymakers and elected officials to recognize the condition and promote access to services.
Cody, who identified himself as the brother of Parker, spoke to the board during public comment and read the proclamation to attendees. "My brother has a disorder called childhood apraxia of speech, which makes kids' words and what they say hard in some ways," Cody said. He described early communication using sounds, occasional use of sign language and reliance on an iPad to help Parker express his thoughts. "He still does speech therapy to get help pronouncing words and sounds," Cody said.
Cody described the family's community efforts, including an annual apraxia walk to raise funds and a local "apraxia champions" activity that he said supports families. "In conclusion, we should raise more awareness about Apraxia," he told the board.
A person who identified themself as Parker’s parent thanked the trustees for allowing the family to speak and noted the family's repeated participation in the event. "I think this is our fifth year in a row, so thank you very, very much," the parent said. "We look forward to next year and the years to come."
On the motion to adopt the proclamation (agenda item 4), a motion was made and seconded and the board conducted a roll call. The transcript records Trustee Brady, Trustee Brennan, Trustee Mahoney, Trustee Mueller, Trustee Shaw and Trustee Sullivan responding affirmatively during the roll call; the roll call indicates the trustees approved the proclamation.
The proclamation is effective for the date named in the document, May 14, 2024. The family said they plan to continue annual awareness activities.
