|
The odds are now 1-in-150 that your newborn will be diagnosed with autism. It's a tough diagnosis for any any parent to tackle. But as one couple tells CBS 42 that the state is helping them fight it.
It was a very special day for Mike and Dawn South. Their eldest son Taylor was on point for his Upward bound Basketball game.
During the action, the teams star player came to a halt while driving down the court. He picked the ball up and placed in Taylor South's hands.
With cheers from the crowd Taylor paused and looked up... the roar of "shoot Taylor shoot" echoed of the floor and ceiling... his pause now past Taylor bulled the ball back and launched into the air... and then swish.
It was a very sweet sound for a very sweet kid who at 11-years-old just made his first basket while participating in organized sports.
And while Taylor was busting with joy and ready to celebrate as if he'd just scored the winning basket at the buzzer in the seventh game of the NBA Finals his parents hearts were aflutter.
Mike and Dawn had just watched true acceptance. Their son was one of the boys, just another kid on the court. To them it was a moment to celebrate, not for a basket, but for how far their first born has come.
It was a joyous occasion for a family that only a few years ago struggled to understand why their son was falling behind his peers.
Dawn says she knew something wasn't right, and as tough as things were for her and her husband, it was even tougher for little Taylor. "He knows something is different. He would get so frustrated because he has the words here, it's just getting them out."
The family first heard of Autism when Taylor was just 2-and-a-half years old but a clinical diagnosis didn't come until Taylor entered the first grade.
In fact, Dawn says she was surprised at the diagnosis."All I was concerned about was why he wasn't talking like everyone else, that was the only indication I had."
Like many families who receive such news, the South's were at first overwhelmed. They cried and prayed and asked "why us? Why Taylor?"
But after the tears dried Dawn got to work. She admits she didn't really know Autism at all. "All I knew was Rainman!" Rainman, the severely autistic math whiz made famous by Dustin Hoffman in the 1980s.
"My son was nothing like that," says Dawn. She says at that moment she decided to read everything she could find, and watch every video she could find to educate her about the challenge her baby now faced.
What Dawn found surprised her, but it would set the stage for that basket the family only recently celebrated. Taylor wasn't alone, many children were afflicted with condition, some much more severely. Taylor was functional, and the State of Alabama had a program to help the family with treatment.
The early intervention is working, and for the last several years Taylor has excelled in a typical classroom. Now in the 5th grade he's an A/B honor roll student.
It's what Taylor's father mike says his son has always wanted. "He wants to be a part, and he is a part, and the other kids react to him and treat him like any other kid that's in the group."
It's a heartwarming story that many families can learn from. Autism expert Nancy Minshew says the key to Taylor's success is the early intervention he received because his parents sought help. "I think it's not what many families experience. We're doing better, but it really depends on early recognition and the availability of early intervention programs."
Learn more about Alabama early intervention here.
|
