My Friend with Speech Apraxia (Difficulty Communicating but Understanding Everything) 

Emma's mom's way of describing Apraxia was absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for putting it into a perspective I could understand

Sometimes the less words used to respond the more impactful the response can be. “What makes you happy? “Love.” Fantastic answer :]

I know this comment may get lost, but I run a horse farm in Maryland and would give any special child or person the time to ride or spend time with a horse if they so desired! For free of course. I am so inspired by what you do and would love to contribute in any way I can to help these special people achieve their goals and dreams!

my 10 year old daighter has apraxia as part of her autism. each word is such a celebration. i hope she learns to speak as clearly as ms emma. thank you for sharing your story.

Chris, you are absolutely amazing with her. You bring out the best in people.

This channel is the wholesome break i need after one of...you know...these days...

Hello Emma. It was wonderful hearing you talk about your memories with Chris. Thank you for allowing me to get a glimpse into your life. The video of you singing Bob Marley really made me smile. I hope you are doing well.

Emma is incredible, to see how *immediately* responsive she is to Chris, when talking to her and particularly when singing to her! I have to say that Chris, it appears that you are making a *Massive* positive impression to your Students and all that can just stop for a moment and consider the selfless guidance and positive reinforcement you give in all around you it seems! What you have done and continue to do is priceless. You Sir are making massive positive impressions that will outlive generations, so long may you be that guiding light to so many Special People

Chris is so patient with people with disabilities & so understanding wish there was more Chris' in the world.

This channel helped me find new purpose in life... i lost my mother a few months ago... and when i found this channel... i was able to smile and shed tears that were for joy and not sadness.... Thank You Chris for EVERYTHING you do for these kids.... They all have had a positive impact because of what you do :)

singing obviously makes her so happy

Oh Emma.. I had so much to say when this first came out and I’m so happy to be able to now. I adore your sense of humor and how nice you are. I also love that you have a mother who advocates for you at those times when some of those highways are closed. You’re amazing and you will do great things!❤️ love from Ohio.

Such a intelligent young lady. She’s no different the anyone else. What a beautiful soul. You as well Chris. Please continue to bring joy and happiness to all you interview and for all of us who continue to watch. ❤️

He's so amazing. He knows how to bring her out. Love him.

My good mate Playing guitar? What can’t you do. The world NEEDS More people like you ❤️

This reminds me of teaching English as a foreign language. I teach English to kids without any knowledge of their language, often they have a lot of listenjng and reading comprehension, but have trouble responding. So, I use a lot of movement, pictures, and sounds to help the kid recall the words or choose an answer from a set of choices. I think this makes them feel comfortable and happy that they are able to respond more easily!

I got the chills when you two were singing. If only more people could be patient and kind like Chris, the world would be just about perfect ❤️❤️

Emma, you are the cutest! *hug*

Hey Emma, so glad the comments are back so we can talk with you! Thank you for sharing your story and for helping all of us better to understand other people. You are truly inspiring and I love your shirt it's super cute!

Thank you so much Emma for sharing your experience with us, being so open and vulnerable. I cannot imagine the frustration you must feel sometimes. Keep singing, keep being yourself

It’s really great to see you with one of your original students. Emma is an awesome girl.

I have to admit, for the first few minutes of the interview I was not entirely sure how much Emma was comprehending, as I know very little about speech apraxia - but when Chris asked her about the song she sung all those years ago, and you could see her thinking about it and then finally, suddenly she came out with "Bob Marley" my heart absolutely soared...and then she immediately remembered which song it was as well. This video has singlehandedly changed the way I view this disability. ❤

Great kid, great mum, great teacher. In the last video, I seem to remember this little boy went on to teach in your class and the little girl he helped out was Emma.

Emma we're the same age and I would love to be friends and talk to you regularly you're so sweet, thank you for being on SBSK and I hope you're doing well ❣️

Comments are back... YAAAAAY!! I love Emma and her Mum. They're fab. I remember Emma from some of the clips I've seen in your classes.

What an awesome teacher this man is. I would strive to be this kind of teacher.

Well, Emma nailed that three little birds lyrics. Even I couldn't remember all of it 😅

Chris is an amazing person we need more people like him hopefully his videos go viral literally

Emma, you are an amazing young lady. Your smile is infectious ❤ Chris, you are an incredible human being. The positivity, understanding, compassion and care you have for the beautiful people you talk to is admirable. Thank you for let us meet them all through your videos ❤

Emma is so cool and pretty. Everything she says is worth waiting to hear. You rock, Emma!!!

Chris thank you for impacting and changing lives.indeed you make the world a better place for everyone

Chris, you're an Amazing teacher, we probably were a bit too young to have met as teacher and student but I would have learned things from you Easily. My Teachers were great too and I can live Indapendantly because of their professionalism. All I'm saying is Teachers like yourself aren't celebrated enough. I like how you grab bad stigma and throw it away to show people with a Disability can do a lot, Understanding that goes a dang long way towards independence. Having a beer with you, cheers mate.

Emma you’re an incredible person, I’m so happy I got to hear your story! Great job singing In front of an audience, that was so brave of you, I couldn’t have done it myself. Awesome song choice too, 3 little birds is one of my favourites!

She is so beautiful inside & out. ❤ Chris has an undeniable unique gift with people & the world is benefitting from it through these videos

That clip at the end just filled my heart!!!!!!! You’re absolutely amazing. I wish every teacher was even a tiny bit like you, the world would be a more open and kind place ❤ wishing Emma so much love too ❤😊

you are amazing emma ! watching you and chris sing together is great ♥️

She really came to life around Chris as the video progressed. I get an occasional stutter and it’s like my brain stops in its tracks for a second and can’t get my mouth to say the words I’m trying say, I can’t imagine how frustrating it is to deal with it constantly.

I absolutely love this video. I see joy and success!

This video made me so happy :)) Emma, you are amazing and I absolutely loved the singing (I'm also quite jealous of your job, it sounds great!) Hope you stay a happy person forever! And Chris, I have been watching your videos for quite some time now, but I don't think I have left a comment yet. This channel has actually taught me more useful than high school did. Please keep doing what you're doing, and keep this channel filled with the best people ever and get them on this podium they deserve!

OMG those old videos are the best. It would be fun to hang out with Emma and her mom.

Love you Emma! I watched this interview several times!

Emma, you are such a wonderful girl! You brought joy to my night!

I didn't want this one to end. Emma is a fascinating person not because she has a disability, but because she has the ability to overcome. This whole interview is so interesting. Thank you for making this video!

That's cool that she got a job. She seems like a smart girl.

she is so cute, esp with her connection to music and singing. shes almost like another person

Chris you are an angel for those kids. How great to let this girl talk through songs . Amazing human being

Emma, you are a joy to watch. Let your intelligence and want to succeed take you wherever you want in life.

Your show has been such an enlightenment for me. I have barely been around special needs people and would not have known at all how to communicate with someone who was different. I did have deaf friends at one time-but the wife could read lips and hear a little-so all the communication came from her. I tried learning sign-but we moved and I did not continue with it.

Chris, you are the sweetest guy ever. Love from India.

thank you for sharing, emma!

Chris you are amazing I would like to be like you! You bring the best out of these wonderful and special human beings.

Omggg this video made my whole day

Emma is so beautiful and full of charm! She's making me laugh when he copies him!

As someone who struggles to communicate, I can almost hear Emma thinking. She's awesome. And it seems like Chris' classroom was an awesome place too.

I think talking loud and/or being musical makes Emma bubbly!!👍👍💪💪💓💓 She perks up and jokes too!!😂😂😂😘💪👍 Go Emma!!

My son's main diagnosises are severe oral and verbal dyspraxia/apraxia of speech, mild global dyspraxia, selective mutism and sensory processing and integration disorder. He was nonverbal until the age of 5.5 years old other than the words mum, my, and no and some animal sounds - his speechy said it was time to integrate him into the deaf community because they thought he was going to be one of the kids that never talk... But he refused to learn sign language because he had already invented his own sign language - out of desperation I done the GAPS protocol with him - and he started talking, within a fortnight he had a huge vocabulary and was putting 3 and 4 word sentences together, his sensory issues and toe walking all greatly improved - I highly recommend trying the first week or 2 of the GAPS protocol for anything neurological, gut or autoimmune. We still have weekly therapies for certain sounds and sound combinations (he just turned 9) but prior to GAPS he was unable to actually participate.

What a fantastic end to the video 😂🤣 So much sass Emma! 😆 Pretty cool song choice too.

So fun to hear you sing!!

Thank you for the comments You tube! All of your stories deserve responses! You are amazing and your voice is fantastic!

Hi Emma 👋 thank you for sharing your story

She’s amazing too ❤️

Perfect explanation as to what being non-verbal actually feels like I’m partially-verbal due to autism, this is what it feels like, you can’t connect your brain to your mouth

I can relate to Emma too because i have a type of apraxia too. I know we’re she is coming from I used to really snuggle with my speech but thanks to speech therapy I no longer have that problem. It’s really cool too see someone who has the same disability as me it’s very rare i get to see it. Thanks for making such an inspiring video and spreading more awareness. I really appreciate you. Thanks for sharing your story!

This is heartwarming!

It is such an inspiration that there are people that really help reach out to differently abled people.

We should all be a little bit more like Chris. Awesome role model.

Sir you are so inspirational! 👍👍👍

Shes so wonderful❤ i truly hope she knows

I love "water". She's adorable. Keep smiling.

I'm so happy to meet you, Emma, you're so cute, funny and smart!

A great video! She might benefit from an AAC device. It would help her to be able to say what she is thinking on the inside.

Wow My friend you are magic!! ❤️

God bless you Chris

At 9:25 when Chris asks Emma what her biggest wish is you could really see the frustration in Emma. You can tell she wanted to say something else but all she could say was"water". Then Chris proceeds to say "why were you laughing at yourself?" And she replies "because i said water" in a defeated/frustrated manner. She probably didn't say water because quenching her thirst is her biggest wish (as assumed by Chris), but more likely had something to do with the beach or going swimming. Just my guess.

She comes across very intelligent in reality, I really hope she finds a way which helps her express herself... I can't access words sometimes during conversation and it is frustrating, so I can't imagine how maddening that must be to experience all the time.

Emma, water was a brilliant answer!! We are mostly made of water. We can go longer without food than water. It is crucial for our survival. I completely understood where you were coming from with that response🙂 And I bet the animals at your job LOVE you. You are such a gentle spirit and they probably feel so safe with you!

Deamn this guy is doing a great job no questions

its beautiful how she kept opening up throughout the video

Hi everyone: It's so nice to see you all again on RU-vid. I want to meet you all one day. Take care and stay safe.

I wonder if sign language could assist her speech as well? Very lovely interview ❤️ thank you for sharing!

I love their friendship :)

i thought you were just a good loving guy, i now know everything you do you know what you are talking about. great!

I cant help but tear up when watching Chris's channel! Such a sweet man and such sweet souls he has on his videos!

beautiful beautiful beautiful

You're awesome.

Hey Emma! It's so cool that you get to work with animals. I am jealous. I feel like we could have been friends of we lived near each other we could have ridden horses together. Love and well wishes from Canada!

She is adorable.

God bless you all.

I wish Chris taught me.. I might have cared a bit more about school if he was my teacher 🤣

I also have apraxia of the speech, I don’t know much about it and I can speak almost entirely “normal” thanks to almost 10 years of speech therapy. My mom said to me that when I was young I said basically nothing. A lot of people consider my problem resolved but they don’t know the mental energy and focus that goes into speaking that’s easy for other people,

Getting modern day Mr. Rogers vibes from Chris.

♥️ Emma

I finally figured out ! Years I've been trying to figure out why my son was talking but Emma reminds me so much of my kid! You are my hero Emma! We also love Sponge Bob too!

Music is processed in a different part of the brain than speech! My sister had Aphasia, which isn’t the same condition at all but I learned about speech issues because of it. My sister could sing along to songs very well even when her normal speech didn’t make a bit of sense.

I wonder if when she hears the questions being asked if she wants to say something else but just can’t? Like for example if someone was like “what was you favorite part about going to the mall yesterday” and in my brain I knew what I wanted to say but all that came out was “good or happy” that has to be so frustrating if so. I love her laugh so much. It’s definitely infectious if she laughs super hard lol her mom is also so amazing.

Chris*you are AmAzInG💕✝️Blessing & Gift from God*to help these young kids,adults,whatever n whoever✝️💕Bless your Heart!! You do so much good in this world for ones you help and people you’ve never even met before✝️your amazing at what you do!!

Emma's response is quick if you ask a question and offer her a choice of two replies when you ask. I noticed that.

the “ah nevermind” joke made me laugh so much

Chris, i need you to come to Argentina so i can meet you😂

Great