About Speak Out 4 AS
Sparked by one child's desire to hear her friend speak one day, the idea for our SpeakOut4AS campaign was launched.
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Pictured here is Gina, Kids4Good member, and her good friend Ainsley. |
Ainsley has a rare neurological disorder called Angelman Syndrome. A disorder which, as we've learned from Gina, leaves children without the ability to talk and delays walking in most cases. Some children are never able to walk. Most children with AS, or Angels as they're often called, require 24/7 care with some experiencing complications with their eating and sleeping and most all of them prone to some type of seizures.
Our group has been moved to join Gina in her quest to one day hear Ainsley speak. We decided that our group would go about trying to raise awareness about Ainsley's disorder. We determined that the best way to go about doing that might be to try and get a sense of what children with Angelman Syndrome as well as other nonverbal children must feel when they're unable to speak. Why not be silent?
So SpeakOut4AS is a campaign of no words. It's an acceptance event, in which children are challenged to remain silent for a set period of time. In order for our children to have a better understanding of what a child affected with AS must feel like when they're unable to speak, we will ask SpeakOut4AS participants to remain totally silent, to not speak a word.
Through the silence of these events our children can demonstrate their power to help make a difference for the thousands of children left without a voice by this disorder.
Click below to witness the power of silence from the Kids4Good club on their recent Thanksgiving Food Delivery - practice for upcoming SpeakOut4AS event on December 2nd.
The Silence Continues...
Through these SpeakOut4AS events we hope to raise some much needed funds for a cure, but more importantly, we hope to leave all who participate with a greater understanding and acceptance of their nonverbal peers.
We hope you'll consider holding your own SpeakOut4AS event to demonstrate that we can all raise awareness without saying a word.
For now, we can all be the voice that Ainsley and her fellow Angels need to spread their message.
Funds Raised from this campaign will go to the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics for research towards a cure.