Master LC, a nine year old London, was born on the 34th week of gestation, via a normal delivery, but prolonged labour. The baby did not cry immediately after birth and weighed 2.5 kgs. He was kept under observation for five days. He had a history of normal milestone development. His speech had developed and he could say words like ‘pasta’, ‘biscuit’ and ‘juice’. He was a bright child and had good grasping power.
But by the age of two and a half years, his parents started noticing some changes in him. He had poor social interaction and he started regressing with his speech slowly.
They consulted a psychologist and he was diagnosed with a case of Autism at the age of four and a half years. Ever since that, he was attending a normal school with a shadow teacher. Later at the age of six and a half years, he was sent to a special school and received regular occupational therapy and speech therapy once a week. His mother was conscious about his problems and tried every possible treatment.
During this tough ordeal, she came across Autologous Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells Grafting as a treatment option for Autism through the internet. She contacted NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute to know more about the therapy. And the rest, they say, is history.
They reached India on the last week of September 2013. The normal checkup was conducted based on his condition. He was admitted in September 2013 and his case was thoroughly examined. According to his mother’s verdict he had the following symptoms- Poor social interaction, fleeting eye contact, inappropriate emotional responses like irrelevant laughing and crying without reason, motor mannerisms like finger fidgeting, rocking etc. smelling objects, presence of unusual noises, fearful of loud noises, weak fine motor skills, poor – fair perceptual and cognitive skills.
On a closer examination, he was found to have Tactile, Vestibular, Proprioceptive and Olfactory Hyposensitive and Auditory Hypersensitive. Although, he was independent in all his activities of daily living, his mother was mainly concerned about his difficulty in buttoning, zipping and lacing even prior to the treatment. Upon assessment, his Functional Independence Measure score was 74.
On a closer study, he scored 117(70%) on ISSA {Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism} and 34 on Childhood Assessment Rating Scale.
On 1st of October, he went through autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells grafting for Autism in India and after which he was under regular rehabilitation for one month. He was under several therapy sessions like Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Psychological Session for six days a week for one month.
On the final day of therapy, he had the following improvements as reported by his parents
Improvement in Perceptual and Cognitive Skills:
Eye contact was better.
Overall attention and concentration improved especially while speaking to him.
Overall awareness had increased.
He could swing on his own (which his parents were trying to teach him since 5 years).
He could point out his body parts like eyes, ears and nose.
He could identify alphabets and could place it in order on the board.
He identifies shapes and can insert in the 3D box.
He could now identify red and yellow colour and also he could do sequencing of beads and flower links.
He could identify red and yellow colour with shapes.
Improvement In Sensory Problems
Earlier he would pick up his T- shirt and ask his parents to scratch his stomach which has completely stopped now.
His auditory hypersensitivity has reduced considerably. He could tolerate the sound of a baby crying in the room, also people talking around him. Ear closing was minimal during the session and outdoors.
Motor mannerisms had reduced in public places.
Improvement in Social Interaction and Communication
He could now play ball throwing and catching game in a group with his parents and therapist.
Previously when they were on Skype with his relatives he needed to be forced to interact with their relatives but now he points towards them and greets them.
He used to grab his parent’s attention by vocalizing. He now tries to convey his needs by pointing accompanied by making noise.
Improvements in Activities of Daily Living
He can now button his shirt.
He can now cross and make an initial knot for tying shoe lace.
His fine motor skills have improved.
His parents were extremely happy and delighted on seeing his improvements. They are in regular contact with all the professionals at NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute via email.
Hi parents expressed via email by saying that he is doing well on most days. They are following all the therapist’s commands. He learnt how to zip up completely since they went home arrived. He was then able to do five colours threading and sequencing. Buttoning process has also improved. He was able to make straight lines vertically and horizontally without a ruler and he was able to hold the pen firmly and try to write the letter O. He also began trying to colour inside the shapes without play dough. He was doing fine for now, and that they still need to brush up on more. They were still struggling to teach him to tie the shoe lace, but the parents were taking it easy and were optimistic that they would slowly get there. They take him roller-skating. He attended his first ice-skating lesson and he did quite well. He also joined swimming classes and in the meantime the parents were trying to organize different play groups (art and craft etc).
Master AS is a known case of ADHD and Autism, with a history of poor social interaction, hyperactivity and an absence of emotional behaviors. He would engage in self injurious behavior like scratching his skin excessively, socially unacceptable behaviors (touching his private parts) and exhibit aggressiveness. There was no effect of schooling on his social behavior, interaction and expression. By the time he was 14 years old, his parents were finding it difficult to tackle his aggressive behavior.
His mother expressed that from the time he was an infant, they had noticed that AS was not talking or playing like other children of his age. He would often keep to himself and wander aimlessly in the house, as though he was living in his own world. Even when his schooling began, he would be aloof and not interact with other kids. His teachers would complain about his lack of interest and response to class activities. The parents realized that their child did not show an age appropriate development, hence, they opted for medical intervention. After several visits to a string of doctors, at the age of six Mast. AS was diagnosed with Autism. While the diagnosis affected the parents greatly, they did not let that desperation grow onto them. They were determined to help him get better, to the best of their ability.
Mast. AS was then enrolled into a special school that would help to groom him and train him to live an independent life. His parents however, were not satisfied and kept on looking for alternative therapy options for their son. It was then that his maternal grandfather read an article on autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells grafting for Autism in India in a daily newspaper. This article gave his family hope. They began to search for institutes that would help their little children and came across NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute. They then set up an appointment with Dr Alok Sharma, Director and Dr Nandini Gokulchandran, Deputy Director to further discuss the course of the treatment. After a detailed discussion with the doctors, they were convinced that this would alter his path of their son’s life.
“Dr Alok Sharma provided us with a ray of hope that we were looking for from the past 13 years. He assured us that Autologous Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells Grafting would bring definite improvements in our son and gave us the confidence we needed. We are very satisfied with the results that we have seen in AS post therapy. His graph has progressed upwards and much beyond our expectations.” says Mast. AS’s mother.
Mast. AS underwent autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells grafting for autism in India for the first time on in May 2011 at NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute. Along with autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells grafting he was put on an extensive rehabilitation program. The rehabilitation program was customized in a manner such that it benefits him to the maximum limit. The aim of rehabilitation program was to improve his motor performance, to channelize his aggression and to help him develop his vocational skills.
Clinical Improvements seen in Mast. AS post first autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells grafting
During his three month follow up, Mast. AS was evaluated and the following improvements were noticed.
His eye contact was better with improvement in attention span, which allowed him to solve puzzles correctly, at least 80% of the time.
His fine motor skills improved, which means he was able to grip a pen better, and his handwriting has improved considerably. He was also able to replicate complete sentences in writing, which he could never do before. Earlier he needed it to be dictated to him.
There was a considerable reduction in aggression during activities such as flipping hand movements etc.
Due to an improvement in fine motor skills, he could now button & unbutton his shirt faster as well.
The clarity of his speech improved.
His parents decided to go for another session of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells grafting, which he underwent in November, 2011.
Improvements seen in Mast. AS post second autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells grafting
At Mast. AS’s next evaluation, the following improvements were observed.
There was further improvement in eye contact and socialization.
He began showing an interest in music and dance.
He started becoming tidier, and started keeping things back where they belonged, such as clothes, bedsheets, etc. He even started folding his blanket.
His hyperactivity reduced by 50%.
His awareness and expressiveness has increased. He was able to start expressing his comforts and discomforts.
Cognitively, his problem solving skills had improved.
Reading skills have improved, earlier he had difficulty in reading long words but now he can read.
Speech is clearer than before.
His repetitive hand flipping completely stopped.
Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism decreased from 85 to 51.
His attention span has improved.
His learning capacity improved and he began speaking in English as well.
His fine motor activities improved, and he was able to tie knots and button and unbutton himself.
He was able to trace better.
His reading skills improved.
He began recognizing different shapes (circle, triangle, square, etc.).
His handwriting has improved considerably and he was able to start writing within the lines.
His command following improved.
He started understanding proportion of food while eating
When she was asked about her feedback, Mast. AS’s mother said “I can’t believe my son is doing so well. He has appeared for his eighth grade examinations. He now spends time with his younger sister and even helps tutor her for her studies. My son who wasn’t able to fold a handkerchief, now folds blankets independently. He even makes tea for us and his favorite ‘Maggi’ noodles all by himself. I would say autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells grafting is a boon for children with Autism”.
She has been quite optimistic that her son will improve even further and will do wonders in his life.
