Monday, December 2, 2024
Long Beach held its first Walk for Apraxia on Oct. 19, hosted by Apraxia Kids, a nonprofit headquartered in Pittsburgh. The walk started on the boardwalk outside the Allegria Hotel at 10 a.m.
The Allegria and the boardwalk welcomed all those in support, and the walkers hit the boards on a beautiful day.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech makes it difficult for a child to speak, and the disorder affects about 1 in 1,000 children. They know what they want to say, but find it nearly impossible to coordinate the movements of lips, tongue and jaw that are necessary to form the words.
Long Beach’s Bobby Sorise has had difficulty talking since he was a toddler — unlike his twin brother, Joseph, who speaks normally. He was not, however, initially diagnosed with apraxia, and his mother, Kristi Rook-Sorise, and her husband, David, had no idea what his problem was. After several tests and studies, including one at Hofstra University, Bobby was finally properly diagnosed.
Children who have apraxia typically have a large gap between their receptive and expressive abilities. They can understand language, but the ability to respond using language of their own is either deficient or absent. The child knows what he or she wants to say, but can’t say it correctly.
Diagnosis can be difficult, because of the similarity of the disorders.
Long Beach’s Acting Police Commissioner Richard DePalma attended the event as well. His daughter was diagnosed with apraxia when she was younger, and thankfully, was diagnosed early. He spoke at the event, bringing one more local family into the mix, highlighting the importance of understanding the disorder.
The walk and speakers helped the community better understand the disorder, how to recognize it and how to help.
