Smick Saturday: Anything But Silent

I have to do some bragging. Smick Women are going to take over the world. Get ready!

Have you heard about the Hennessy women, Kathy & Kate? BOTH Saint Mary's College alumnae?!
If you haven't, you will!

I met Kate when we were first years at Saint Mary's. We had so much fun together! I have many many MANY great memories of college that she is a part of. But even through the years of friendship, it took me a long time to figure out what a success story she really was.

Me and Kate participating in some Senior Week Shenanigans at SMC

Kate had overcome childhood apraxia, which according to wikipedia, is "an oral motor speech disorder affecting an individual's ability to translate conscious speech plans into motor plans, which results in limited and difficult speech ability. Individuals with this disorder have difficulty connecting speech messages from the brain to the mouth. Childhood apraxia of speech is an inability to utilize motor planning to perform movements necessary for speech during a child's language learning process".

&

She and her mother WROTE A BOOK! It is called Anything But Silent.

It details their family's journey in learning to communicate with one another and their battle to overcome this speech disorder. Just from past conversations with Kate, I know their story is quite compelling and worth the read.

this is from the paragraph on the back cover:

"What would you go through as a parent to give your child the power of speech?

Parents dream their children will achieve many great things, but most parents do not dream their children will struggle for years just to speak what is in their hearts and minds. Kathy Hennessy faced this challenge with not one but both of her children when they were diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech.

What does a child feel like when no one in the world understands what she is trying to say? Imagine the frustration when even your mom doesn’t get it. Young Kate Hennessy understands all too well those feelings of exasperation and defeat.

In this forthright and emotional story, Kathy tells of the mountains they climbed just for her children to have a chance at speech. Hennessy tells of the battles she waged with insurance companies, pediatricians, school systems, and family, while Kate shares her own experiences and those of her brother with bullies, friends, and following their dreams.

Heart-breaking and heart-warming, the Hennessys’ tell of the intense commitment to therapy, the magic of Santa Claus, and the sadness of teaching children to defend themselves. Daughter Kate tells of the determination of her brother and herself not to be consumed or broken by their disability; Kathy shares her creative solutions to their early speech limitations and her pride in seeing them as young adults speak in public at national conferences on childhood apraxia of speech.  Not only had they conquered their own challenges, they were leading the way for other children like them."

-Anything But Silent 

The book will be available for purchase in April 2013.

You can order it, and find out more about the authors, Kathy & Kate, and their book here.  

Click here for the Apraxia-Kids website. It has a great information guide for parents, students, or professionals looking to learn more about Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Kathy is on the Board of the organization running the website and helped to establish it as the leading resource on CAS across the world!

Best of luck to these strong women! I am so proud of you both for sharing your story.

Go Belles!

xox

    Riley