A local girl battling a rare neurological condition is determined to learn to speak someday.

Rhiley Fitch in Norwalk turned 5 years old Tuesday.

"My birthday is May 10," said Rhiley, through a special device she uses to communicate.

She struggles with a motor speech disorder called apraxia.

People with apraxia have a hard time planning and producing the right movements to speak.

"They think what they want to say, they know what they want to say but by the time it gets to here, it's something completely different," said Rhiley's mother Nicole Miller.

Rhiley receives speech therapy that her mother hopes will eventually help her talk.

"It is going to be a lifelong struggle. Some people end up with stutters. Some people still eventually get stuck on words," said Miller.

Rhiley and her mother are raising awareness about this rare condition that affects 30 million children in America.

The mother and daughter got Mayor Harry Rilling to make this Saturday "Apraxia Appreciation Day" in Norwalk.

"Definitely the more people who know the better and that's really what my goal is," said Miller.