"Stryders Journey"

Catastrophic.

I had never considered Apraxia of Speech to be a catastrophic, before now.



But it was...and before my conversation with Dr. Strand, I had no idea the real definition.

Catastrophic illness is defined as any illness that requires lengthy hospitalization, extremely expensive therapies, or other care that would deplete a family's financial resources, unless covered by special medical insurance policies.

Not only that, we are still trying to diagnose him on other issues such has his mobility--
My child has a neurological condition that could have a good prognosis, IF he had the proper treatment. Treatment that our insurance company called a luxury. You read that correctly, UnitedHealth Care actually said that speech was a luxury during a phone call. EASY FOR THEM TO SAY....they have a voice.

Apraxia

Apraxia has several definitions as defined by LoudMommy.com ~

A severe speech disorder characterized by inability to speak, or a severe struggle to speak clearly.

Apraxia of speech occurs when the oral- motor muscles do not or cannot obey commands from the brain, or when the brain cannot reliably send those commands.

Verbal apraxia is a disorder of articulation characterized by difficulty with sequencing and organizing motor or muscle movements specifically for the production of speech. It may also be described as the impaired ability to motor-plan.