It's a mysterious and troubling affliction that science is still learning
about -- autism among children.
A new, accidental discovery is leading a small group of autistic kids
to participate in a most unusual experiment -- involving hormones from a pig.
In the case of one Utah family, the results are remarkable.
Science Specialist Ed Yeates reports.
Tomorrow morning, when the Hunsaker family awakes, they'll document yet
another day of how their 3-and-a-half-year-old son is changing.
Is what is happening to Cade Hunsaker a subtle miracle?
Cade had hardly spoken until his parents took him to California in April
for an experimental injection of a pig hormone called Secretin.
"And back in the hotel room I asked him what he wanted for dinner, and he said,
'Pizza,'" says Cade's mom, Jodie Hunsaker.
"He came running and pointed at the shower and said, 'Shower' and he said
'Fishy.' He's never said those words before," Jodie says.
Secretin has long been used to treat digestive disorders in kids. But
quite by accident, the parents of an autistic kid noticed the hormone did a lot
more in their child than just cure diarrhea.
The changes in Cade are still subtle, but like the other few kids
who've been treated, doctors are asking parents for documentation.
"We're documenting everything that he's said. It's supposed to affect his
attention span, eye contact, so we're documenting everything - every change
that we've seen that has happened with this."
At school, Cade listens and interacts with a computer and his teacher.
It may not seem like much, but for the Hunakers and their family - it's a
lot!
Jodie says, "The first time he came in and said 'Shower,' and I said, 'Phil,
he just said shower.' You know, every little word, and I'd say 'He said another
word, he said another word!' And I'd tell everybody and our family and we're so
excited - every little progress he makes."
No one knows for sure why the hormone of a pig, used to treat digestive
disorders, works in the brain of an autistic child. But in some, NOT all, it
does!
Because the FDA has NOT approved it for this kind of therapy -
insurance won't pay.
And it's not cheap!
A single injection costs $300.
That doesn't include another $200 for the doctors.
And on top of that the cost of airfare to and from California.
But then the Hunsaker's say insurance doesn't do much for any kind of
treatment for autistic kids.
Cade's father, Phil Hunsaker, says, "When I was told my son was autistic, I
mean it hit me like a rock. It's pretty hard and then we look for anything
whether it's approved or not approved - we don't care."
