Catching Up!

I know, I know... it HAS been a while! As other faithful followers of our other family blog has so politely put it "Wow, you must really be busy, since you haven't updated your blogs in MONTHS!" To put it as saying that we've been busy really, is putting it mildly. Yes, its been a whirlwind three months!

In the past three months we've learned a new thing that has come into play with Kekoa's overall praxis diagnosis. For months I've noticed that his whole oral sensitivity issue has not let up, in fact, I feel as if it either gotten worse at times or at best, stagnant. With my instincts telling me to push further, I contacted our service coordinator and set up an appointment with an Occupational Therapist to have Koa checked.

The session was quite helpful, not to mention interesting. To cut a really LONG story short, the OT concluded that it looked as if Koa had overall Sensory Processing Disorder. She noticed that in terms of anxiety, hesitation, not to mention inability to go with movement of his limbs, he was just overload with what his "capabilities" were. An example of this were, for instance, Koa lacked overall bilateral coordination. At his age, he should be able to do things like march his feet, bounce a ball alternating between his left and right hand, climb using his two sides intermittently. Koa unfortunately could not do either (which would also explain why to no avail and however many attempts we tried, Koa can't ride a tricycle either). However, the little bugger is indeed a really smart little cat. The OT noticed that with his shortcomings he had, little man would do all sorts of things to either compensate for his lack of bilateral movement or completely avoid the situation together. A great showing of this was when Koa tried to climb a padded wall. He pretty much ran and jumped as high as he could, hit the top and flopped like a fish until he got over it onto the other side. He was supposed to climb it; right leg, left leg and alternate his limbs to get him over. Not Koa! :) He did the task albeit, "incorrectly."

Now my instinct as a mother told me, "So my kid doesn't conform to the 'norms'... he's doing it right?" Well, I noticed that with each task Koa was real uncomfortable, to the point that it started to create a form of anxiety in the poor kid, not to mention it started to overstimulate him.

The thing to calm him- a beautiful golden retriever named "Blessed" used by the therapist to get children to partake in the different tasks. And Blessed worked like a charm. All the tasks that Koa needed to do that he initially had hesitancy in, he did just fine after following Blessed's lead.

Koa still has a road ahead of him, but its one that we're still strong to take.

Koa & Blessed 9/20/2011




Koa doing sensory work in the backyard with shaving cream (hence why we did it in the backyard!)9/28/2011

Sensory Triggers Vocabulary

For some reasons unbeknownst to a lot of researchers, children with developmental delays, speech in particular, seem to have sensory issues... whether oral (Koa), touch/ texture (Koa), sound, environment (Koa), smell, they are a common thing.

When Koa first started his IE services almost one year ago, we found that Koa had some MAJOR sensory issues when it came to touching textures. For instance, he HATED paint and anything with that sort of sticky texture (i.e. stickers, glue). For him it was too much of an overload and you could see the anxiety start to build as he would frantically try to wipe whatever it is, off of himself. Quickly, though, and through repetitive usage of the different items, he got used to it... so much and so swiftly that within a month he tolerated the items. You could tell he wasn't into it, and it wasn't his first pick for an activity, but he would try.

Also, Koa's teacher was WONDERFUL in getting him acquainted with it. Together they made messes that would frighten any normal parent. Me, I was fine and knew it could be cleaned up, even in our new house. :) My whole drive was, if it would help him speak, then hey, I would try just about anything.

And sure enough, one year later, Koa's still doing sensory work and it elicits all kinds of new sounds and reactions out of him.

Today, Koa sat and not only painted, drew, colored, played with stickers... but he also attained to the task for a whole hour! Children with Apraxia, due to the lack of an understandable communication, which then leads to frustration, often have trouble attaining to a task for more than 10-15 minutes, TYPICALLY. Koa was again was showing that he's going to beat this thing, no matter how much it wears him out. :)

The first few pictures, you could see that Koa's a bit uncomfortable... it has been awhile since we worked with paint!



Then we got messier...


And it was a good event!



For a good measure, here are the words that we got out of Koa during this sensory time overload.
1. Kuh-lo (for "color)
2. Mowh (for "more") which then led to...
3. Mowh Pane ("more paint")
4. Ewwwwww!! (Hahaha... totally self explanatory, right?)
5. OOOS!! (for "oops!)
6. Keeeen (for "clean")
7. Stuck-urr (for "sticker")

New Words To Add!!!

I think its been a month since I last posted what words Koa has in his vernacular. He's building... slowly, but surely. He's getting more and more words that make us laugh, make us cry and yes, even make us go, "HUH?!" But then we laugh when we figure it out... it's so cute.

Here is his list from last month to recap:

1. Mama (my favorite!)
2. Dada
3. Ses (for Sissy)
4. Dih (for Dini the Dog)
5. Dah (for dog)
6. Eeya (for ear)
7. Eeee- tuh (for eat)
8. Che (for chip... how he learned that one I'll never know)
9. Shhzzz (for shoes)
10. Pih (for Pig)
11. Peez (for Please)

New Ones To Add:

12. ME! (As evident in the video below!)
13. No (usually said repeatedly, which is always cute)
14. Moo (as in cow sounds)
15. Moe (for more)
16. Pee (for feet)
17. Beebee (for baby)
18. Bah (for ball)
19. Har (for car)
20. Tat (for cat)
21. Kah-kah (for Kaukau, Hawaiian Pidgin for "Eat")
22. Bah (for bath)
23. Shi (for fish)
24. Cheyah (for train)

To update, there are more words that we have heard Koa say, but again, I have to reiterate that they haven't been consistent, so we can't count them just yet. These words listed are words that have been consistent and when he says them, he says them with the correct meaning and we understand him.

Unfortunately, there are some sounds that Koa seems to have lost, one of them being the "p" sound." He can say it for some words like, "feet" but in "please" it comes out as "eeeeze." Sometimes they come in and its "peeze" again, sometimes its gone. Again, more work to add to the pile.

Also, notice that a lot of the words are either the first sound or part of the word, not the whole word/ sound. This will come with tweaking as part of Apraxia is the missing of phonemes... Koa's getting there, and we're understanding him. It really is a wonder to see how far he's come thus far. We are so proud of him!

Koa Man aka "SuperMan"

Auntie Kira sent the most amazing and inspiration note to Kekoa telling him how proud she was of all the progress he has made.

I know that Koa has been working really hard here at home and at Lucid with his SLP... not to mention also during his EI sessions with his Regional Center teacher. The frustration has diminished, but I can see that at times he still gets upset because he really is telling us something, we just still can't decipher his sounds. But at the same time, Koa has also gotten really patient with having to repetitively try again and again in order to communicate what he's wanting or showing.

Auntie Kira, the amazing Auntie that she is, recognized all of that... even from 300 miles away. :)

In addition to a beautiful letter she sent him (and Mommy and Daddy too!) she also sent him a little reward for all of his hard work... a Superman t-shirt, to show to the rest of the world the superhero he really is.







Thank you Auntie Kira!!!! We love you so much!!!

Gaining Maturity= Gaining Progress?

There are days when I could listen to Koa babble incoherently for minutes at a time and think, "Okay, he's definitely telling me something, unfortunately its just un-decipherable!" Sometimes I even have to laugh to myself and think that Koa's come up with his own language that's somewhat of a cross of English, Vietnamese, Filipino and Hawaiian... because really, its just that jumbled. Then there are days where Koa will respond so quickly and so well with his therapy that I think, "Well here we go!! We're making strides!!"

Koa works hard, no doubt. But Koa is still a baby by a technical standpoint. He's definitely still learning to self-regulate, having these outrageous tantrums, cries at the slightest head shake "no" from me or Daddy, but still will look to us for attachment and non abandonment. Case in point... he's still only 2. A part of me realizes, Koa is definitely growing up, definitely figuring out a lot of things out on his own, and DEFINITELY testing to see how the world works.

As much as we know that Koa has a disorder, we do our absolute best to make sure that not only does he get pigeon holed into this society, but we want to show him that while he's special in his own way, he doesn't get special treatment (i.e. getting away with murder) because of it.

One of the things that I have slowly been trying to do is show Koa that Mommy is always here for you; you may not see me, or Mommy may have to leave you temporarily, but I will always come back to you. Every speech session Koa, Malia AND I will trek it into his SLP's office for his 30 minute session. And each time I see that Malia is a HUGE distraction for Koa. And yes, even I am a distraction to him as well. Being a former preschool teacher, I know that kids always behave differently when parents are not around; my son, no exception. At Lucid, a majority of the kids go in to their session by themselves, yes even toddlers, just because they get more work done. We've been trying that each session with Koa, but each time he refuses and clings to my hand that much more. Its hard, and very heartbreaking. I want my son to get the most out of his sessions with his SLP, Miss Amber and I know that mine and Malia's presence is really a detriment to him.

For the past few months we've been trying a little bit of him on his own, testing to see how far he can go before he starts screaming for "Mama." Today, was a miracle. Okay, not really a miracle, but clear progress. Miss Amber opens the lobby door and says her usual, "Koa, come play with me!" Koa of course goes, but waits for me. If he sees that I'm not following him, he then shakes his head no, and then wedges himself into a chair where he can't come out. *SIGH* So I do my usual, take his hand and walk him into Miss Amber's office. Luckily Malia had started to walk out at that moment, so I tell him, "Ko-ey, Mama's going to go get Sissy real quick, I'll just be outside." To which Miss Amber closes the door.

Malia and I walk into the lobby and I brace myself. 2 minutes pass and I hear nothing. 5 minutes and still nothing. I pick up a book to read to Malia. Now 10 minutes has passed by this time and still no sound coming from down the hall, no Miss Amber coming into the lobby with a crying Koa. By this time 15 minutes have passed and I settle in just a bit. Read: my knuckles are no longer clenched white and I am now sitting back in my seat. :) 23 minutes now pass and a mom whose children have consistently had speech the same time as Koa looks at me and says, "Wow! This is the longest he's gone ever!" I'm thinking she's sensing I'm on the verge of tears and wants to comfort me. Then I hear on the other side of the waiting room door, "Say 'O-pa." "Pa." "One more try... 'Ohhh- Pah!" And then a loud "PAAAAA!!" And out comes Koa, tears in his eyes, but not crying or sobbing.

He MADE IT THROUGH THE FULL 30 MINUTE SESSION. I can't believe it. And just like I thought, he did excellent work. He did a whole bunch of sounds and even showed off his new word for Miss Amber- "ME!" My little boy is starting to grow up. He saw that while he was away from me, I was there waiting for him. Waiting to shower him with praise and hugs, kisses and high- fives. My heart aches for how much Koa accomplished today, and I can't wait to see how much more he will achieve.

When we got home, I video taped a few minutes of him trying to show off his new word "Me!" He's still camera shy, but he gets it a few times!

Wait And See

Kekoa, my little speed racer


I can't even begin to tell you how many times I heard, "Koa's only (fill in whatever age Koa was at that moment)... he'll talk soon enough. You'll see." Sometimes I even heard, "Oh, he's a BOY. Boys are always slow to talk. Just wait. If he's not talking by the time he's three, then maybe you should worry. Till then, he's fine."

Being a mother I will always, always, always advocate to anyone with a child, if you feel that something isn't right, listen to that feeling. It can't hurt to ever question your gut and have things checked out. Honestly, I would have LOVED to have gotten Koa evaluated and then have someone tell me, "Mrs. Vu, you've completely wasted your time and ours; your son is perfectly fine." But the truth of the matter is, that didn't happen. But rather, I was told, "Yes, Mrs. Vu, we will have to do some further tests because there is cause for concern." And you know what, I don't regret getting him checked out. If I never followed my instinct, if I shoved away that little voice that told me something had gone wrong with Koa's development, Koa would not be getting the treatment that he's getting and really, he wouldn't be any better off than he is today.

The reason why I've brought this little tidbit up is that a very interesting article was published recently on the "wait and see" approach for parents of late talkers. While it has concluded that about 70-80% of toddlers CAN outgrow a language delay, only if it is an expressive language delay; a still significant portion 20-30% will not catch up to their peers. Do I really want to take that chance that my son will or will not fall into that latter percentage? Do I pray and hope that he falls into the greater percentage? Of course! But I need to keep reminding myself, Koa was also diagnosed with a mild receptive delay as well as a oral apraxia, not just verbal. As a parent, why would anyone really take that chance? Hope, yes. But gamble on a positive outcome for your child? Why? I thought parenting meant just that; taking the reins and making sure that your child gets the most and best that you as a caretaker could ever really give.

Below, a post on the article... its a great must read! Check it out.
A Closer Look at the Late Talker Study: Why Parents Should Beware of a 'Wait and See' Approach (The Hanen Centre)

I Want To Be Your Friend

Every year CASANA does a conference for parents of children with Apraxia, Speech and Language Pathologists, professionals, educators, and anyone else who may want to attend. They put on an intensive three day conference with different workshops, panels and speakers from everyone who work in the field, to having Nancy Kaufman (developer of the Kaufman Praxis Treatment Method, which is currently being used with Koa) speak.

This year the conference took place in San Diego, which is literally only an hour from our home. Martin and I considered heavily on attending, but with finances, and really, Koa and Malia just not being ready to be away from us for 4 days, we decided that this year couldn't be our year to attend.

Luckily through modern technology, CASANA had posted a few videos from the conference for us parents who couldn't make it. That way we could benefit still from what was shown and sort of keep us in the loop.

One of my favorite videos is from their opening keynote speaker where they talk about a book titled "I Want To Be Your Friend." This book was written by a mother, whose daughter has CAS. She wrote it so that those who work with her daughter, in the schools and around, could know a little bit more about her daughter's condition, in the hopes that this would explain a bit more.

The book was read by two teenage kids who also have CAS. I feel that it was a great idea to have them read this aloud because it allowed us parents to see that here were two well adjusted young adults, living with the condition and able to function in everyday life with the disorder.

Between the two teenagers, and seeing that there was plenty of hope for Kekoa, and listening to the words of this book, once again I was brought to tears. But most importantly I was floored. I loved seeing how these two young adults, brought themselves to this daunting task of not only getting in front of hundreds of strangers who were to be fixated on them, and listening quite intently on their every sound, but they did it knowing that there could be a possibility that their disability would make it harder for them to complete that task, yet they did it with such grace and composure. Already, thats a hard thing to do, get up and speak publicly. But they did it beautifully. :)

New Sounds

One thing that is common with a child who has Apraxia is that words may come and then not come back again. We've heard Koa come up with all kinds of responses that would shock us, or make us laugh, and then we never heard them again. For instance, one time about 7 months ago, I looked at Koa and said, "Hey buddy, you ready to go moi moi (Hawaiian pidgin for 'night night')?" He looked me clear straight in the eye and said "No Thanks." It was that precise, that clear. I was taken aback. "No thanks?!" I repeated. And immediately his mouth closed tight and he got that unsure look about his face. From that point, I never heard anything again sound even remotely close to it.

But now, Koa's been making some really good approximations for words that Martin and I both understand and we know he's using with purpose.
I can even start to list a few:
Mama (my favorite!)
Dada
Ses (for Sissy)
Dih (for Dini the Dog)
Dah (for dog)
Eeya (for ear)
Eeee- tuh (for eat)
Che (for chip... how he learned that one I'll never know)
Shhzzz (for shoes)
Pih (for Pig)
Peez (for Please)

There's a few others too that I know he can somewhat say, but I didn't want to list them or mark them off just yet, just because he's not consistent enough in using them. I wanted to make sure that the words I list (for progress and milestones sake) are words that we know without a doubt that he could say over and over again and know that what he's saying has actual meaning to what the word is.

He's getting there. Its still a journey, but he's definitely getting there.

P.S. Koa's also started to blow away some of our family members with how well he's been doing with the Kaufman cards (basic level)... if only I could get a video of it to post on here, that would make my day!! Unfortunately, Koa clams up as soon as he sees the camera. :( I'll get it though, stay tuned!!

Koa and Mommy, July 1

What The Future May Hold

I've gotten a lot of questions as to what the prognosis for Kekoa would be. Would he ever learn to talk? Is it likely that he may not ever be able to speak? Or could he eventually just begin talking on his own without help?

The best answer that I've learned is that like Autism, Apraxia is a spectrum disorder; meaning there are all kinds of varying levels and degrees of this treatable diagnosis. There are some children who go through life undiagnosed and eventually do talk. There are children who go through their entire early years in early intervention and aggressive therapy and still have trouble forming singular words, much less stringing word sentences. Additionally, there are children with Apraxia who may have other issues going on connected with the Apraxia that further debilitate their progress with therapy and treatment- Koa being one of them.

Koa was diagnosed with verbal AND oral apraxia. Verbal meaning that the brain connection to make sounds that string words is absent; oral meaning that the movement of the mouth, lips, tongue and teeth are also having movement problems that allow him to make the sound which leads to the words. A good example of this is that Koa can't pucker his lips. Currently we are in occupational therapy for this. But the puckering of the lips allow him to do things like blow out, kiss... this also helps in forming the letter "O" or "OO". Koa also can not move his tongue properly. He can stick out his tongue and touch the top of his lips, but for some reason his motor connection is still off where he can't move his tongue around, the side of his mouth or even point down. Again, more occupational therapy that we are working with.

So depending on the severity of the disorder, its hard to tell. I look at Koa and see the little progress that he's made and have lots of hope for him. But I also know that speaking is just the tip of the iceburg. There have been numerous studies that link Apraxia to all kinds of learning disabilities as well. But in my heart, I have great hope for him and know that some how, in his own way, he's going to push his boundaries and even defy whatever odds may be against him. As a mother and as HIS mother, this I know and hold in my heart.




Kekoa, the little rascal that he is, got himself wedged in between our couch cushions. I walked into our family room and found him stuck here like that, but yet, he's still as happy as ever and made the most of the situation. :)

CASANA's Video

Get out your tissues...

Every time I see this video, it makes me cry. Watching this, I think of Koa and all that he has to offer, wondering if he will ever reach his full potential.

Kekoa, everyday I dream that one day you can tell me what you want. I dream that you can tell me how you feel. I dream that you can tell me what it is you are scared of. I dream that you can tell me when you are happy. I dream that you can pick up the phone and I'll hear you have a conversation. I dream that one day I'll hear you singing one of your favorite songs. I dream that at night you and I can recite your prayers together. But most of all everyday I dream that I will one day hear you say, "I love you."

The best part about Koa's condition is that though he can't say "I love you, Mom" I can feel it. And most of all, I know that he knows I love him just as much, back.

Kekoa's Story

Being diagnosed with CAS, many people have asked me, "How did you get that diagnosis?" or "How did you even come to think that something could be wrong since he's so young?"

Here's how it began.

As an infant, Koa never really babbled. We got the occasional coo, the sometime here and there squeal, but no real different sounds babbling. And now that I have Malia who is 14 months younger, I saw that in her. But with Koa, I never saw it, nor did I think anything of it.

Right around his 1st birthday Koa said his first word, "Mama" which was then quickly followed with "Dada". We were thrilled. Finally! His first word! But we never heard it again. Both times, they were isolated incidents in which they were quick outbursts. We never thought, was it said with purpose? We were just happy that we heard sounds out of him. At around 13 months he said one more word "Kracka" for "Cracker." At 14 months, the word "La Na" for "Wala Na" a Filipino word for "No more." Both those words were also isolated and never heard again.

At 15 months we voiced our concerns to our pediatrician that those words came and went yet we never heard them again. During play, Koa was as quiet as could be. He was a happy and energetic boy, but very quiet. When he did make noise, they were mostly laughs, giggles and squeals. Nothing discerning into vocabulary. We were told to keep an eye on it and that we would re-evaluate him at the age of 18 months.

Everyone kept telling me, "He's so young. Give him time, he'll eventually just start talking" Or, "My son didn't talk till he was almost 2. Boys are always slow." I got everything under the spectrum as to why he wasn't talking. But something in my heart AND head told me something wasn't right. I knew he was young and would still have time to hit this milestone. But yet, I JUST KNEW that there was something about Kekoa that gave me lots to worry about. Call it motherly instinct. Or even point out the fact that I was once an early childhood educator. But no matter what, I knew that somewhere in his development, something was not right.

18 months came and went and at that point we were told by our pediatrician that he should have at least 40 words in his repertoire. Koa had 0. None, not one word that we could clearly define, not one word that we knew had any meaning. He suggested that we get him evaluated with our local Regional Center with their Early Intervention Program, even throwing out the dreaded "A" word... Autism.

I called and called, researched and researched, yet I got nowhere. Thanks to Kira, my best friend and family cousin, who works as an Autistic behavioral specialist in Sacramento, she got me in touch with Riverside County's Regional Center who then did a quick over the phone evaluation. Needless to say, Kekoa passed/ failed. Meaning, there were enough things in there to be concerned about to have him further evaluated for the scary diagnosis of Autism.

Prior to the second evaluation, I began living this nightmare coming true. I looked up Autism Speaks' website and started watching videos of children with Autism Spectrum disorder and thought, "This is my little boy." I cried each night and thought, "If he's Autistic we'll do everything we can to help him immediately. If we can't get him to come into our world, then we're certainly doing what we can to get into his!" We received such an outpouring of love and support from family it was amazing.

On the day of the evaluation Kekoa, non-surprisingly, threw everyone for a HUGE loop. All of the things we said that Koa couldn't do, he did just fine and on cue. All of the things we said that he did, he didn't display (such as no eye contact, not responding to his name on prompt). In fact, they even brought in 3, yes THREE total doctors and psychologists to have him evaluated. Koa was clearly NOT Autistic. But he was VERY behind in terms of meeting his language milestones. He was evaluated for his receptive skills (understanding language) being at 12 months, and his expressive skills (speaking language) being at 5 months. Kekoa, 20 months old at the time was more that 50% delayed. Thus putting him in Early Intervention as being developmentally delayed. We were given twice weekly services with a teacher to work on this, but recommended we see a Speech Pathologist who could further evaluate him.

The good news was, Yes, Kekoa was not Autistic. But the bad news was, we still did not have any answers. Yes, he was non-verbal and it was a problem. We knew that already! But what was wrong with him?!

We took him to see one Speech Pathologist, who from the get-go rubbed me the wrong way. First, she didn't shake our hands or introduce herself to Kekoa. In fact she just led us to her office. Secondly as she was evaluating him, we let Koa eat some apple slices. As he was eating, she stopped writing, looked up at him and said rather rudely, "Does he ALWAYS jam food like that into his mouth?!" Not knowing why she asked that (now knowing NOW that it is VERY common for children with Apraxia to have Oral Sensory issues... food jamming being one of them) I answered defensively, "Not all the time. Just when he likes the food." She then finished her evaluation and said, "Well, I'll have to run this by my manager, but it looks to me your child has Apraxia." Apraxia?? What was that? I've never heard of it. I asked her to explain it a little bit more to me, to which she just handed me a card with the National Apraxia Association website and ushered us out of her office. We never went back to her again.

That night I went onto the website and saw the following:
In typical speech/language development, the child's receptive and expressive skills increase together to a large extent. What is often seen in a child with apraxia of speech is a wide gap between their receptive language abilities and expressive abilities. In other words, the child's ability to understand language (receptive ability) is broadly within normal limits, but his or her expressive speech is seriously deficient, absent, or severely unclear.
It was clear. Kekoa's cognitive skills were right at par with his age. He clearly understood our questions, our commands, and would respond somehow by shaking his head, staring at us as his way of saying yes, or even point to things when helpful. Luckily we also had begun using sign language with Koa, to which he caught on really quickly. And it was a huge help in lessening his frustration and getting to know what it was he wanted or was trying to tell us.

As I read on, my heart sank further and further and I became that much more saddened by this possible diagnosis. Would my child EVER speak? Would I ever know what it was he wanted to tell me? Most importantly, would I ever be able to talk to my son? Sure signing was helping, but would I ever hear his voice? From the day he was born I dreamed of the day he would call me Mama, and regularly too. I wondered, would this even be possible for him?

I researched other Speech Pathologists in our area and found our dream come true, our savior... Lucid Speech and Language. A center of Speech Pathologists who concentrated with just children and speech disorders associated with Autism and Apraxia. We made an appointment.

Upon first evaluation, it was clear, Kekoa was showing the signs of Apraxia. However, not quite 2 at the time, (he was only 21 months old by this time) they said they would start early intervention speech therapy with him but most likely wouldn't be able to officially diagnose him till he turned 2 as milestones were to still be emerging.

We had a wonderful therapist who first started with Koa, Mrs. Cynthia Sandoval, who then diagnosed Kekoa at the age of 2 years and 2 months with "Moderate to Severe Childhood Apraxia of Speech with an expressive language disorder considered secondary to his diagnosis of Apraxia, also with a mild receptive disorder."

Through therapy, using the Kaufman method, we were told that Kekoa would be starting from ground zero. Meaning, we would be starting right where Malia was almost... getting him to have an increase in babbling, working on sounds, such as animal sounds... pretty much use those as building blocks to form words.

Its not an easy task, but so far Kekoa is handling all with his own style and flair. :)

Kekoa at 8 months

Kekoa at 20 months, 1 week prior to his Regional Center diagnosis of Non-Autism

To My Son, Kekoa

I've started this blog for two reasons:

1.) To share with our family and friends, and anyone else who can benefit from this still yet to know more about condition called Apraxia, Kekoa's journey and struggles of growing up with this disability.

2.) So that as Kekoa gets older he can see not only how far he has come, but also how great he really is and how much those around him not only support him in his everyday endeavors, but that so he knows he's truly loved and most importantly... UNDERSTOOD!

In my head, I thought, "Really? Like our family and friends don't already have to sit through the family blog and be tortured with our daily mishaps!" (Hahahaha) But I also knew that it was important for me to record what I myself as a mother is going through in raising a child with this condition called Apraxia. I wanted Kekoa to look back and see how special he is and really, to show off to the world what kind of a Superhero my son is.

Kekoa, age 2 years, 4 months