Trip to US gives new hope to boy who eats plastic
AUTISTIC FOUR-YEAR-OLD’S PARENTS RAISE MONEY FOR THERAPY
THE parents of a boy with autism who eats plastic and cardboard are planning a trip to America to try out a new therapy.
Four-year-old Marco Slawycz’s autism affects him in ‘numerous ways’ – while he has the speech and language skills of an 18-month-old, he has the body and strength of a seven-yearold.
As well as struggling with loud noises and sensory processing, a condition related to his sensory needs – called pica – means he likes to eat non-edibles such as paper, plastic, cardboard and Play-Doh.
And while a chew stick he’s been given meets a lot of his needs, his parents Sara and Bohdan, from Whitefield, have to keep a very close eye on him to keep him safe.
They are hoping the therapy in America – something that costs £40k-a-year for a full-time programme in the UK – will improve his speech, language and communication skills, as well as his selfcare and life skills.
They decided to make the ‘once in a lifetime’ trip after hearing about the therapy offered by Janine Shapiro, a woman they met during a trip to the Bahamas before they even had children.
After keeping in touch via Facebook over the last 10 years Janine, clinical director at Access Behavior Analysis (ABA) in Indianapolis, has invited them over to try it for themselves.
The couple, who also have a two-year-old son Lorenz, have been working hard to raise the £7,000 needed to make the trip – with Bohdan, 35, working away as an electrical inspector in Afghanistan for the last nine months to help pay for it.
Sara, 33, said: “We have been invited to meet with her in America and have an amazing opportunity to try this therapy. Although it is available in the UK, it is extremely expensive and not common in schools.
“Marco has completed a term at a Saturday school in Bolton called Autism Support UK which offers a taster of ABA Therapy.
“They only have 30 places available every six months but he loved it there.
“Janine remains one of only a handful of practitioners with both certifications in the world and has over 15 years of experience treating the speech, language and social deficits of children and adolescents with autism.”
Sara, who works at NatWest in Spinningfields, added: “Marco is very quiet and withdrawn and likes to play alone.
“He struggles to communicate or use his imagination when playing and, unfortunately, he has no danger awareness and we have to ensure his safety all the time.
“With regards to the non-edible eating, we just have to keep a close eye on him.
“The sensory diet has provided him with his chew stick which meets a lot of his needs, but he can still eat other things.”
But as well as the negatives, Sara says he is ‘incredibly intelligent and is amazing with his iPad, jigsaws and loves lots of physical play, running, trampolining and swimming.’ He also has a lot of love for numbers, letters, colours and all things related to Thomas the Tank Engine.
For more information about Access Behavior Analysis visit accessba.com.