Wordless but hopeful

Sedler Ivan is a child with atypical autism, moderate mental retardation, and systemic speech underdevelopment of level I.

The pregnancy and delivery proceeded without complications. Ivan was born full-term with a high Apgar score. Signs of autism spectrum disorder were noticeable before the age of one, but the real regression occurred at the age of 1 year and 4 months. Within a month, Ivan lost all the skills he had acquired and withdrew into his own world. Instead of babbling, he began to self-stimulate, and instead of smiling in response to his name, he stared blankly into space. The already difficult course of autism was complicated by comorbid conditions: irritable bowel syndrome, neurogenic bladder, insomnia, pica, and hyperactivity.

Ivan is now 9 years old and is desperately fighting for every skill he acquires. The diagnoses are not easy, so systematic rehabilitation is necessary to integrate new skills into everyday life. Only through the joint efforts of a team of specialists and parents is it possible to achieve results. For a child with severe autism, Ivan has made significant progress thanks to constant rehabilitation: he is no longer afraid of people, pays attention to the outside world, has reduced self-stimulation, improved sleep, begun to consolidate toilet skills, and is developing self-care skills, which greatly facilitates daily life.

Recently, the boy has also made progress in speech therapy: he is trying to repeat individual sounds and syllables. However, he still has difficulties with sensory integration, behavior, self-care skills, and communication. The family works tirelessly to make the boy's life more comfortable and to help him adapt to his circumstances, at least to some extent.

For nine years, his mother has had a big dream – to hear her son's first word. But most of all, the family is focused on helping Ivan become as independent as possible. The most important thing in the boy's rehabilitation is consistency.

The family is asking for help from caring people to provide the child with quality rehabilitation services.