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Apr 2, 2008 7:27 pm US/Central
One Family's Story On World Autism Awareness Day
Seema Mathur
(CBS 11 / TXA 21)
Here in North Texas and across the nation today, we are being asked to pay attention to a brain disorder that affects millions of families. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an estimated 30 million people in the world have autism, with 1.5 million in America alone.
April 2nd has been designated World Autism Awareness Day. It's estimated that one out of every 150 American has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.
Some parents with autistic children told CBS 11 News that increasing awareness, like the fundraiser held at Toys R Us in Plano, helps bring them hope. Hope that more will be learned about the developmental disability.
One local family is getting a lot of support as they try and find the right treatment for their son.
Most of 19-year old James Stewarts' life has been a puzzle… for his parents and his doctors. "He would kind of do these things like sit in front of a mirror all day and look at himself," his father Chuck Stewart explained.
James went from a baby that seemed to be developing normally to being diagnosed with autism at 3-years-old. "It was like a ton of bricks fell on us because we realized right in that moment our whole life changed," Chuck said. "We would not be able to do the things that we wanted to do and have the kind of family that we wanted to have. Our family would be different."
There is still no cure for autism and much to be learned about the cause. Autism usually appears during the first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Most health experts agree that individuals with autism respond best to highly-structured behavioral programs. Severity of the disorder varies from child to child. According to Chuck, treatment for his son has often been an uphill battle. "We would go to see doctors and we would end up telling them more about autism. We knew more about autism than they did." When James was diagnosed he was considered one among thousands, now the CDC
In recent years an increased amount of research has helped children interact with their world. "Since there are more children [diagnosed with autism] there has been a lot more information released, programs developed," said Heather Russel with the Autism Treatment Center.
The research efforts offer hope to some parents, including Chuck. "I could die tomorrow if I could talk to my son for five minutes. I mean you just can't imagine what it's like to have a kid as bright as James and as sweet as James and not be able to talk to him. I would love to know what he thinks and how he feels."
Officials with the CDC say that in recent years there's been a huge spike in the number of autism cases. They attribute that to several different reasons, including – better diagnosis and environmental factors.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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