As part of National Autism Awareness Month in April, CNN ran some interesting feature stories on a number of people who are suffering from the disorder.
One young man featured, Bobby Smith, 10, has a story that should serve as an inspiration to family members of those who suffer from autism. Smith was non-communicative for the overwhelming majority of his childhood. He was diagnosed with the moderate-to-severe end of the autism spectrum as a toddler.
“[Bobby] cannot tell us if something hurts, why he is upset or happy, where he would like to go, what happened at school today, what he would like to do for his birthday, what he would like Santa to bring him for Christmas,” Cheri Smith, Bobby’s mother told CNN in 2012.
At the time of the 2012 interview, Cheri was looking for help and answers, as Bobby’s behavior was getting worse and he was unable to communicate his feelings.
Things began to change when Cheri, desperate for help, found a behavioral therapist. By the time Bobby was nine years old, he knew about 50 words. With the help of the therapist, Cheri began to understand that Bobby was capable of speaking more.
For the first six months of treatment, Bobby’s therapist, Sharon Holbert, worked with him on behavioral items like sitting properly in his seat, keeping his hands folded on the table (instead of hitting her) and his feet in front of him (instead of kicking her), according to CNN.
As Bobby’s behavior got better, they began working on other objectives, like identifying colors, numbers or letters. His responses were not acknowledged as being correct unless he said them verbally.
Cheri began to use the model at home. “If he wanted any food items, if he wanted a particular TV show that he liked, if he wanted to go outside, he had to ask verbally or he didn’t get his want,” Smith told CNN. “Quickly it was just easier for him to say the word than it was to throw a fit.”
Now, Bobby can verbally identify letters, colors, animals and some shapes, count up to 20 and say about 100 vocabulary words. It has gotten to the point where he can communicate short sentences like “I want swim at the beach.”
“We went from being a family where our child was physically aggressive and having constant meltdowns to one that is enjoying experiencing the world through Bobby’s eyes,” Cheri told CNN.
Can I File a Lawsuit If My Child Has Autism?
While this is an inspirational story, it also details the struggle that many parents of autistic children deal with daily. It can be a devastating diagnosis for a family, as communication and emotional bonding can be stunted.
These struggles are some of the reasons why our law firm is looking for parents of fraternal twins with autism, as we believe that there may be a link between the drug terbutaline (also known as Brethine, Bricanyl and Brethaire) and the disorder.
We believe that there may be a connection between this drug and autism, because unlike identical twins, fraternal twins only share 50 percent DNA with their siblings, but face the same exposures during gestation, meaning they are exposed to all substances with their mother. This includes exposure to medications and potentially harmful drugs.
Help us champion the fight against autism. If you are the parent of autistic fraternal twins, we need your help. Contact us today.
[Did You Know: Adults with autism are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular problems than those without the disorder.]
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – Birth Injury Attorneys
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/29/health/irpt-autism-communicating/
