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The National Institute of Mental Health archives materials that are over 4 years old and no longer being updated. The content on this page is provided for historical reference purposes only and may not reflect current knowledge or information.

One Mother’s Story

Transcript

MOTHER: Georgie was uniquely autistic. He was profoundly autistic. He was non-verbal. He probably passed due to a seizure. People gravitated to Georgie… so, I was very fortunate in that way. Those of us who deal with autistic children or adults everyday… we know there’s something different in there. I have to say I was not aware that this was something that was available. And so, as soon as I heard tissue it just snapped for me because I really believe that that’s where some answers are. And I thought that with Georgie that he’s so much more than just tissue. That anything that could help with autism diagnosis or cure he could certainly be part of. Most of us who have lived with autism most of our adult lives are very much into research and I think this is a way to really give it a boost up. I think that it’s really a way that a parent can turn and say, you know, I did everything while my son or daughter was alive and I’m just going to give it that extra boost now that they’ve passed on because the tissue may indeed really be the answer. Even if its 40 years from now it’ll be Georgie’s tissue maybe that helps and that keeps him alive in my heart.