Spiderboy who’s driving his mum up the wall...
HE can scale the drainpipes of his home, climb a door frame, and shoot up a tree in seconds.
But six-year- old Ethan Broughton’s extraordinary gymnastic feats are a nightmare for his parents.
Ethan, whose nickname is Spiderboy, has a type of autism that means has no sense of fear and needs round the clock care.
He does not understand any speech, even the word ‘no’, and thinks nothing of attempting to climb out of a top floor window.
His parents fear his obsession could kill him and his mother has had to give up her job as a care home manager to look after him.
The couple, who also have a four-year-old daughter called Sienna, have decided to tell their story in the hope that someone will come forward with a therapy for Ethan’s unusual type of autism.
Ethan’s mother Sharon, 36, said: ‘I can’t turn my back for a second because Ethan will literally be climbing the walls, nothing is out of bounds. But while his skills are impressive, they are also terrifying.’
Mrs Broughton, whose husband Richard, 38, is a fireman, continued: ‘He can move like lightning and the bigger he gets the more worrying his behaviour has become. It has put an enormous strain on family life.’
Ethan’s autism makes it impossible for the family to go on holiday or visit friends. When he goes outside, he must be strapped securely into a wheelchair to stop him running off. At night he sleeps in a special bed that is nailed to the floor.
His mother said: ‘Until I had Ethan I always imagined the main symptom of autism was a child who is quirky and socially awkward. I never realised a child could become obsessed with climbing as Ethan is. ‘But he adores the feeling of swinging from his arms, he loves jumping and honing his climbing skills. This is Ethan’s obsession. Luckily he’s never had a serious fall but that is a constant worry. ‘If rarely we do let him out of his wheelchair he runs off and shins up a tree. Going out is virtually impossible. We have CCTV in his bedroom which is connected to my phone, and we already have locks on all the windows.’ Ethan, who is still in nappies and often sleeps for only a few hours a night, goes to a special needs school. Doctors have no idea how Ethan’s climbing can be curtailed and say they have never met a child like him. Mrs Broughton added: ‘It would be wonderful to meet another parent with a similar child and find out how they coped.’
‘Going out is virtually impossible’