Governor Proclaims Apraxia Awareness Day 2024

APRAXIA AWARENESS DAY

2024

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, today marks the 12th annual Apraxia Awareness Day, established to raise awareness about childhood apraxia of speech, a challenging speech disorder that affects one in a thousand children across our state and nation; and

WHEREAS, childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) causes children to have significant difficulty learning to speak and is among the most severe speech deficits in children; and

WHEREAS, while the act of learning to speak comes effortlessly to most children, those with apraxia require early, appropriate, and intensive speech therapy, often for many years, to learn to speak; and

WHEREAS, without appropriate speech therapy intervention, children with apraxia will have diminished communication skills, and are placed at high risk for secondary impacts in reading, writing, spelling, and other school-related skills; and

WHEREAS, these impacts diminish future independence and employment opportunities and can create challenges for those with apraxia to become productive members of society if they are not resolved or improved; and

WHEREAS, public awareness about childhood apraxia of speech in North Carolina is essential for families of children with this neurological disorder and the professionals who support them to achieve the needed services for those learning to use their own voice; and

WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina encourages increased public awareness about childhood apraxia of speech among community members, education professionals, policy makers, and elected officials;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 14, 2024, as “APRAXIA AWARENESS DAY” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

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Roy Cooper

Governor

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this ninth day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.