“I refuse to be a victim.”
I’m Jordan, and I was born with Verbal Apraxia. Life didn’t give me a heads start in multiple ways, but I’ve learned to be a voice and not a victim. My Apraxia diagnosis came to me whenever I was five years old. The diagnosis came after the speech-language pathologist left the school with my files because she didn’t know how to treat a child with Verbal Apraxia. I grew up in speech therapy rooms. My childhood had an emphasis on my need for communication. I didn’t let Apraxia stop me, although growing up with the diagnosis was overwhelming. My mom would soon find that the school wouldn’t want to meet my needs, and teachers would soon yell at me for not being able to articulate words correctly. After that, is when a Speech-Language Pathologist would come in and tell every person in that school what exactly Verbal Apraxia is. I would soon start receiving speech therapy five times a week, every week including summers, for 45 minutes per session. The reason I named my blog “Fighting for my Voice” is that I did fight for it. I was the one in the speech therapy rooms desperately wanting to give up, but somehow still kept going. I would soon grow up and face challenges of my own and dealing with society, and having to learn how to advocate for myself. This is more than just Apraxia, and this is more than a movement… this is fighting for everybody’s voice to be heard. Young people and adults with speech disorders are often ashamed of their diagnosis. This is showing you a different way of living. You don’t have to stay silent, and you don’t have to speak like everybody else. You can only be you. I found my voice whenever I started speaking my truth when I owned my diagnosis. Whenever I started pushing myself to speak, even when I didn’t want to. When I was afraid to. Whenever I was scared to. You are more than a diagnosis.