The STAR CHALLENGE is a simple activity with a powerful purpose. It is designed to offer a brief GLIMPSE into what it can feel like when INTENTION and movement do not line up. For many individuals with APRAXIA, this disconnect is not occasional or SITUATIONAL. It is present across communication and daily life. Apraxia is a motor planning difference, meaning the brain has difficulty sending clear, consistent signals to the body to carry out purposeful movement. This is not about intelligence, motivation, or understanding. It is about the RELIABILITY of the pathway between thinking and doing. The goal of this challenge is not to simulate someone’s lived experience, but to create a moment of insight that can lead to greater respect, patience, and support.
What are we talking about today? The _____________? STAR CHALLENGE
The Star Challenge is an activity designed to give a glimpse into what it feels like when _______ and movement do not line up. INTENTION
What do we call the motor planning difference, meaning the brain has difficulty sending clear, consistent signals to the body to carry out purposeful movement? APRAXIA
OR Define apraxia.
Apraxia is NOT about ________________? INTELLIGENCE/ MOTIVATION/ UNDERSTANDING
The goal of the challenge is to create a moment of ______? INSIGHT
The hope is that this moment of insight will lead to greater __________? RESPECT/ PATIENCE/ SUPPORT
At I-ASC, we are launching the Star Challenge in the month of May in recognition of Apraxia Awareness Month. This is a time dedicated to increasing understanding of motor differences and their impact on communication. Too often, individuals with apraxia are misunderstood as lacking knowledge or language, when in reality the BARRIER (obstacle) lies in the body’s ability to respond reliably. This challenge is one way we can shift that NARRATIVE (spoken or written account of connected events). By engaging in a shared experience, we invite our community, partners, and the broader public to better understand the role of motor planning in communication. Just as important, we aim to center nonspeaking individuals by pairing this activity with their voices, PERSPECTIVES, and lived experiences. Awareness alone is not the end goal. It is a step toward more informed support, better access, and meaningful inclusion.
What is the Star Challenge recognizing? APRAXIA AWARENESS MONTH
What does Apraxia awareness month aim to accomplish? INCREASING UNDERSTANDING OF MOTOR DIFFERENCES AND THEIR IMPACT ON COMMUNICATION
Individuals with apraxia are misunderstood as lacking knowledge or ______. LANGUAGE
What word did I use for a spoken or written account of connected events? NARRATIVE
OR Define narrative.
For nonspeakers, the real ______ is the body’s ability to respond reliably. BARRIER
What’s a barrier you face because of apraxia?
We are inviting our community, partners, and the broader public to better understand the role of __________ in communication. MOTOR PLANNING
What do we highlight by pairing this activity with nonspeaking individuals’ contributions? VOICES/PERSPECTIVES/LIVED EXPERIENCES.
In addition to awareness, we hope for more _______. INFORMED SUPPORT/BETTER ACCESS/MEANINGFUL INCLUSION
In this activity, PARTICIPANTS are asked to complete a familiar task under unfamiliar conditions. You will trace a star shape while looking only at your hand through a mirror, not directly at the paper. Because the mirror reverses what you see, your brain receives CONFLICTING information about how your hand is moving. What should feel AUTOMATIC quickly becomes EFFORTFUL, slow, and often frustrating. You may notice your hand not going where you intend, even when you are concentrating. This is the key experience. It highlights how much we rely on coordinated sensory and motor systems to carry out even simple actions. When that coordination is disrupted, the task changes completely.
In this activity, we complete a familiar task under what? UNFAMILIAR CONDITIONS
What shape are you tracing? STAR
You are then looking at your hand through a what? MIRROR
In this exercise you are not looking directly at what? THE PAPER
The mirror ________ what you see. REVERSES
Because of this, your brain receives ________ information. CONFLICTING
What should feel automatic quickly becomes effortful, slow and often _______. FRUSTRATING
OR
Instead of feeling automatic, the task quickly becomes what? Name one. EFFORTFUL/ SLOW/ FRUSTRATING
Even when concentrating, your ________ may not go where you intend. HAND
This key experience highlights how much we rely on coordinated what? SENSORY AND MOTOR SYSTEMS
When _________ is disrupted, the task changes completely. COORDINATION
How could this activity help you better understand the challenges some people face with motor planning?
How to Do the Star Challenge
Set up a mirror so you can see your hand only in its reflection, and block your direct view using a book, folder, or piece of cardboard. Place a printed star tracing sheet on the table and secure it so it does not move. Hold a pencil and begin tracing the star, keeping your eyes on the mirror the entire time. Try to stay within the lines and keep your pencil on the paper without lifting it. If you go outside the lines, continue from where you are rather than starting over. Time yourself if you would like, and notice both how long it takes and how many times your pencil strays. You can repeat the task several times to see if your brain begins to adapt. Most people improve with practice, but it still requires focus and effort.
Set up the mirror so you see your hand only in its what? REFLECTION
Block your direct view using a book, folder or piece of what? CARDBOARD
OR
Name one item you can block your direct view with. BOOK/ FOLDER/ PIECE OF CARDBOARD
Secure your star tracing sheet on the what? TABLE
It is important that the start tracing sheet does not _____. MOVE
What writing utensil do you use to trace the star? PENCIL
You need to keep your ______ on the mirror the entire time. EYES
You need to try to stay in the what? LINES
Keep your pencil on the paper without ________ it. LIFTING
If you go outside the lines, what should you do instead of starting over? CONTINUE FROM WHERE YOU ARE
You can time yourself if you like, but notice how _____ it takes and how many times your pencil ________. LONG/ STRAYS
You can repeat the task to see if your brain does what? ADAPTS
Most people improve with what? PRACTICE
The task still requires what? Name one. FOCUS/ EFFORT
How might this experience change the way you think about effort, patience, or persistence?
As you complete the challenge, pay attention to your INTERNAL experience. What did it feel like when your hand did not do what you intended? How did your body respond to the mismatch between what you saw and what you were trying to do? Did you feel frustration, HESITATION, or the need to slow down and think through each movement? These REACTIONS matter. They offer a small window into the effort required when motor planning is not automatic. For individuals with apraxia, this level of effort is often present in communication, not just drawing a star. That means expressing thoughts, showing KNOWLEDGE, and participating in everyday interactions can require significant energy and support.
As you complete the challenge, pay attention to your what? INTERNAL EXPERIENCE
These reactions offer a small window into effort required when ______ ______ is not automatic. MOTOR PLANNING
Individuals with apraxia often experience this level of effort in ________, not just drawing a star. COMMUNICATION
Expressing thoughts, showing _________, and participating in everyday activities can require significant energy and support. KNOWLEDGE
What strategies do you think could help someone stay calm and focused during a task like this?
The Star Challenge is one way to build understanding, but it should always be paired with listening to nonspeaking individuals themselves. Their insights and experiences provide the most accurate and meaningful perspective. This activity is not about COMPARISON or INSPIRATION. It is about awareness and RESPONSIBILITY. When we better understand motor differences, we are better equipped to support access to communication, education, and community. A few minutes tracing a star will not replicate apraxia, but it can shift how we think. And that shift is where meaningful change begins.
The Star Challenge is one way to build _______. UNDERSTANDING
It should always be paired with listening to _____________ individuals themselves. NONSPEAKING
Their ________ and experiences provide the most meaningful perspective. INSIGHTS
This activity is not about comparison or ________. INSPIRATION
A few minutes tracing a star can shift what? HOW WE THINK
How does this activity go beyond comparison and instead promote awareness and responsibility?
CREATIVE WRITING
Why might it be important to recognize that the Star Challenge does not fully replicate apraxia?
How can understanding motor differences improve access to communication and education?
In what ways can a small experience, like this activity, lead to larger changes in how people act or think?