Pictured from left to right: (front row): Leah and Tanner Willey and Baylen Mikkelsen, speech language pathologist with St. Anthony Back row are speech language pathologists Mackenzie Wittrock and Leah Lechtenberg and St. Anthony Foundation Director, Trish Roberts
A Carroll four-year-old boy was the inspiration for a fundraiser that provided more than $1,200 to the St. Anthony Regional Hospital speech therapy department. Tanner Willey, the son of Leah Willey and Joshua Brown of Carroll and Tim Willey and Shawnell Rush of Glidden, is a student at Bright Beginnings Preschool and Daycare in Carroll and has been diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). CAS is a disorder in which a child has difficulty in making the accurate movements while speaking and is generally treated through speech therapies. Tanner also uses a speech generator, better known as a “talkie,” that is making it easier for him to communicate with family and friends even after only a few weeks of use. The family’s goal was to generate about $300 to help the department purchase new toys and games and to raise awareness of this uncommon disorder. “We really wanted to spread awareness of a silent ‘gift’ that our son has,” says Leah Willey. “When he was diagnosed, we had absolutely no idea what it was. We wanted other parents to know that they aren’t alone if they have a little one with Apraxia, and that is not something that makes him different, it is something that makes him stronger.” T-shirts that say “We Wear Blue for Apraxia Awareness” were sold and last week, Tanner and his mom brought a check for $1,284.64 to his regular appointment and presented it to staff members. The shirts are being hand pressed by Kelsey Allen with Blissful Adventure Designs in Glidden.