This article originally appeared in the Franziska Racker Center's Winter 2011 Newsletter.  Reprinted with permission.  Thomas Murphy, a father of a child with Apraxia, shares his experience at the 2011 National Conference in San Diego, California.

CASANA selected a proposal from Dr. Aravind Namasivayam of the Speech and Stuttering Institute in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as recipient of its Apraxia Treatment Research Award. An external expert committee along with two parents of affected children, representing consumer interests, selected their proposal, "Exploring the Relationship Between Treatment Intensity and Treatment Outcomes for Children with Apraxia of Speech.

CASANA selected a proposal from Jonathan Preston, Ph.D., CCC-SLP and Nicole Landi, Ph.D., both of the Haskins Laboratory, as recipient of its Apraxia Treatment Research Award. An external expert committee along with two parents of affected children, representing consumer interests, selected their proposal, "Biofeedback Training for Children with Persisting CAS: Articulatory and Neural Changes."

Donna Lederman, M.A., CCC-SLP, will receive the CASANA's Advocate of the Year Award at the 2011 National Conference for her significant contributions, above and beyond what is required of her professional role as a speech-language pathologist.

The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA) will host its 2011 National Conference on Childhood Apraxia of Speech in San Diego, California on July 7-July 9, 2011, at the Paradise Point Resort.  This year's conference theme "Unfolding Potential, Creating Possibilities" will address the use of emerging technology and how it's being used to assist children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech(CAS), while still advocating and creating awareness on issues that affect children with CAS.