Hope & Apraxia

Hope. Is it a naive cliché to help us sleep better at night? 

Or is it actually helpful? 

Is hope powerful enough to overcome our obsession with the technical; our obsession with science, facts, studies, and research? 

Can hope exist in a society obsessed with specifics?

We cling to hope when we need or feel like it, yet we label it a cliché in the face of despair and hopelessness. 

In the Apraxia Community, we know these hopeless moments as the 'Kitchen Floor Moments.' 

When you're crying on the floor, in fear of the future and your child. In these moments, the last thing we can swallow is hope. 

Yet, this is when we need it most. 

We cling to hope when we have our waves of optimism, yet in our waves of depression, hope taunts us, we detest it, and we push it away. 

How can we be hopeful for a child or ourselves when everyone says to be hopeless? When there's actual, physical evidence proving we have a right to be hopeless. 

Hope, the concept of it, has been haunting me for a while now. It is a standalone subject on the Apraxia-Kids Facebook Page, it's a part of Apraxia Kid's identity, and it's even utilized now in Political Campaigns to Hollywood Movies. 

For those Star Wars Fans, in Rogue One, Jyn Erso exclaims, "We have Hope! Rebellions are built on Hope!" 

Fantastic, but what exactly is hope and how does it help me?

How does hope play into your actual lives and your respective Apraxia Journeys? 

I finally pinned it down, or at least I think I have. 

Hope isn't necessarily the belief in being successful; hope equates to the will and drive to be successful. 

In Psychology Today, this article explained the science behind hope, how it equates to a person's success and potential ways of measuring it.

The difference in a person with hope versus without hope was illustrated as, "You can have the best engine in the world, but if you can't be bothered to drive it, you won't get anywhere."

For a Child with Apraxia, they are not given the best engine. Their engine may have simultaneous issues- Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Sensory Processing, Anxiety, etc. But if they have the hope and will to make the most of their engines, they'll at least try to drive themselves to success. 

Hope translates to will, desire, determination, and perseverance. The difference between those who have and live by Hope versus those that do not? They have "...both the will and the pathways and strategies necessary to achieve their goals...”

On the Apraxia Journey, we're taught that there are various roadways to success. We can be successful in Therapy, but not in Math Class. We can be gifted in English and Literature, but not in the Sciences. We can be gifted in our intelligence, yet lack in our communication. 

We understand at a young age we cannot be good at everything. 

But, with this Journey, we have hope we will find success in something. And that something will be valued, respected, and fought for. 

We quickly recognize and admit our natural strengths and weaknesses.  We also realize that success is found in various ways as long as we have the will, hope, tools, and passion to follow through.

Hope is the courage for a child with Apraxia to find these alternative routes to success. To break confinements, safety nets, and pursue their goals on the mere hope that all will be okay. Kids with Apraxia have the hope, will, and courage to make their own detours and alternative routes. 

I have a love-hate relationship with hope as much as the next person. Hope isn't measured, it isn't seen, and it frankly has this naive connotation. 

Yet, hope is the only thing that motivates will. It motivates us to continue-as Parents, Supporters, and Children. 

Hope is what motivates us to speak in every IEP meeting when you'd rather cry. 

Hope is what motivates your child to continue studying after they've failed every Spelling Test thus far. 

Hope is the difference between the fighters and the quitters. 

Hope is the silver lining of the Apraxia Journey.

In those 'Kitchen Floor Moments,' what else do we have to hold onto other than hope?