Gracie Gregory smiles beneath her brilliant blue eyes. She’s sitting on her mother’s lap, next to her older sister, Ryleigh.
Just from looking at them, it is hard to tell that Gracie has Autism, having been diagnosed at only the age of two.
Autism Explained
Autism refers to a range of conditions characterized not by a single symptom, but by a spectrum of symptoms such as impairments in social interaction; communication problems, and repetitive behavior.
Autistic children share some certain difficulties, but being autistic will affect them in different ways. They see, hear and feel the world differently to other people. Autism’s most-obvious signs tend to appear between 2 and 3 years of age, but in some cases, it can be diagnosed as early as 18 months.
An estimated 1 in every 68 children in America has some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A few years back Gracie had symptoms of Autism. She would throw tantrums and have screaming fits that would scare her sister.
“She would’ve fought and kicked,” Ryleigh says, noting that, “it wouldn’t have been possible to sit like this next to Gracie.” Her mother Gina Gregory recalls that her younger daughter would kick, scream and even spit at her occupational therapist.
New Autism Study
However, the Gregory family from Rockledge, Florida together with many other families across America, is being offered hope by a new study.
Gracie was among a group of 25 children who took part in the first-of-its-kind study at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The goal of this study was to check whether a transfusion of their own Umbilical Cord Blood containing rare Stem Cells could help treat their Autism condition.
The results from the test were impressive with up to two thirds of the children showing remarkable progress.
A lot of people are doubtful about these results but for the Gregory family, all they care is that Gracie showed a marked improvement.
The days of Gracie throwing fits and tantrums are way behind them. On a scale of 1-10, they give Gracie a score of an 8 or 9 and this shows remarkable progress.
Cord Blood Stem Cells are rich in multi-potent cells that can make every type of cell in the blood be it red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, which are important to the body’s immune system. They can also be used to treat a multiple of diseases that occur in later life after the birth of a baby.
If you would like more information about stem cell treatment for Autism, please contact us.
H/T: CNN