Jodi Parrish
April is autism awareness month, and 7NEWS has a special report on how one "Mother's mission" to cure her son is helping other parents coach their kids to recovery.
Roman Scott loves soccer.
Like many seven year olds, he loves playing with friends.
Roman Scott, Had autism
"I like to create stuff with my legos and blocks and I also like sports."
And he shares something else with a growing number of American kids: As a toddler Roman was diagnosed with autism.
Elizabeth Scott, Roman's mom
"He had a total of 45 things wrong with him. He couldn't talk, he couldn't eat, and he fixated on objects where he'd stare at things and run laps, and was afraid to touch certain things."
But today, Roman's Mom says he's cured.
Elizabeth Scott, Roman's mom
"All 45 problems were gone, and he no longer needed any special education or services."
Elizabeth Scott, who grew up in Framingham, says it wasn't a doctor or some expert that helped her son, it was a program she created herself.
And she says other moms can do the same thing for their autistic kids.
Elizabeth Scott, Roman's mom
"He had overcome each and everyone of those problems, and I said if he can overcome these problems, then other children can overcome many of those problems too."
How did she do it?
Elizabeth says soon after roman was diagnosed, she'd take him to therapy a few times a week.
She watched what the therapists did - and thought to herself if it's good for him to do this a few hours a week, maybe it would be even better for him to do it a lot more.
So Elizabeth did not return to her job as a teacher, and devoted herself to work with Roman, doing what she calls *skills and drills* for 10 hours a day every day for two years.
Elizabeth Scott, Roman's mom
"It was an all day thing but it was incorporated into our daily life."
They used play doh and shaving cream to make letters and words, played word association games and did vocabulary quizzes.
Many medical professionals agree repeating these types of games over and over again can really help.
Patricia Davis, Developmental Pediatrician, Massachusetts General Hospital
"The things that she focused on, which was structure, consistency, repetition, that is exactly what our standard behavioral therapy is based on."
It's clearly worked for Roman.
Elizabeth Scott, Roman's mom
He's in regular first grade, doing awesome, plays two sports, loves school, has lots of friends.
And other Moms who are using Elizabeth's example - say it has helped their kids too.
Mirya Royal follows the program with her two autistic sons in their Marion home and she says it works wonders.
Mirya Royal, Sons have Autism
This is a miracle what she did...an absolute miracle!
She says five-year-old Aidan is almost 100% recovered and four-year-old Stefan has made significant strides.
Mirya Royal, Sons have Autism
"Never give up hope! Keep working with your child and you will see results!"
As for Elizabeth she's now poured her experiences into a book "Raindrops on Roman."
She says it's a blue print that details the 78 different activities that worked so well for her son.
And she hopes it will help other families.
Elizabeth Scott, Roman's mom
"If I could help one person or help change one life, and give some moms hope by writing about what we did and explaining our recovery, then it's worth it."
Forty-five thousand Massachusetts residents live with autism spectrum disorder. The rate of recovery is increasing, but the key is intervening as early as possible.
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