Sep 19, 2007 9:48 pm US/Eastern
Center Makes Autistic Children's Dreams Come True
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
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This boy is receiving treatment so that things such as certain lights and sounds don't become an assault to his senses.
CBS
Joey White is seven years old and in the second grade. Today, he's getting ready for a sensory learning therapy session in the dark.
Joey is autistic, and this program should help improve his coordination, tension, and his extra sensitivity to light, and noises: two things that make going to the dentist torture for him.
"The light kind of hurts my eyes," he said.
Kyle White, Joey's father, added "It's actually so painful for him to go. It kills me to see him sit in the seat. I feel bad for him my heart hurts seeing him go through it."
Joey's therapist, Kristina Altieri, says it's a common problem with autistic children. "They may be oversensitive to light, noise from drills, stuff in a dentist's office, sometimes have a meltdown."
South Florida businessman Olaf Hampel, who played tackle for the Denver Broncos, decided to tackle autism after meeting a family with an autistic daughter on a business flight.
Earlier this year, Hampel founded the
United Autism Foundation which is based in Fort Lauderdale, and made it his mission to build the nation's first dental facility designed for children with disabilities, especially autistic children.
Hampel explained, "For instance, we need certain equipment for children in wheelchairs." He added, there's also "special equipment needed to open their mouths, and to leave them open."
The foundation is launching a fundraising campaign that hopes to attract corporate sponsors to make the dream come true so that children like Joey going to the dentist won't have to be a frightening assault on the senses.
The foundation's ultimate goal is to raise $10-million for a full-fledged dental and medical facility though, initial plans call for a smaller $1-million facility to meet the immediate needs of South Florida's children with autism.
Click Here For The United Autism Foundation of Fort Lauderdale, or call (954) 449-4991.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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