Sebastian’s Autism Help Fund

Hello family, friends and fund raising helpers. I am here to ask for anyone's help. My son Sebastian was diagnosed with autism in March 2012. So what is autism? Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. They include autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome. With the May 2013 publication of the new DSM-5 diagnostic manual, these autism subtypes will be merged into one umbrella diagnosis of ASD.

Now that we know what Autism is, my son Sebastian of 4 yrs old has it. He currently speaks very few words, still wears training pull ups and goes to pre kindergarten at a special school for kids of his age in similar needs. Although he can't communicate like normal 4 yr olds, Sebastian uses signs and The PECS system to communicate. 

Since then I've been taking him to speech therapy and behavioral therapy to help Sebastian learn and enhance his communication skills. These sessions are very hard to get and there is a long waiting list for hospitals to call parents. Unfortunately my insurance does not cover these type of therapy for Sebastian and although we did receive financial assistance from the Catholic Charity but because we applied so late into the billing that it only covered 3 months before we applied , meaning we were stuck with the bills of over $10,000 owed to the hospitals from 2012 and January of 2013. I'm getting collection calls from the bank and I just can't find ways to pay this amount with 2 part time jobs. Mom can't work because he's only in school for 3 hrs and he needs special attention that no ordinary baby sitter can help unless she knows exactly what he needs at specific times and specific ways to approach him and his condition. 

So I am asking for your help to raise funds for the bills that we need to cover so that Sebastian keeps getting his therapy help. I am embarrassed to ask like this but I'm overwhelmed with covering such amount. Anything helps and THANK YOU for reading and taking your time to help. 

Please learn the signs of autism at www.autismspeaks.org