7-year-old autistic boy helps save father's life

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Will Hawke wrote: 7-year-old autistic boy helps save father's life 7-year-old autistic boy helps save father’s lifeBy: Cortney Kowalisyn, Staff Writer01-11-06 It was morning on New Year’s Day and while others in the spic-and-span Preserve at Eastwood community might have been spending the early hours of 2006 in peaceful reflection, perhaps recuperating from a late night of celebrating, the Austin family was buzzing with activity. Mom had headed off to the Publix up the street to pick up some essentials; brothers Jonathaan, 3, and , 7, were amusing themselves by spending time in their playroom; and family patriarch Tom was out on the back patio getting

ready to fill up the tires on a new tricycle that Jonathaan had received for Christmas. Going about their business, each engaged in seemingly unassuming activities, the Austins had no reason to suspect the terrifying turn their day was about to take. Struggling to free the new bicycle pump from the two thick plastic ties that secured it to its packaging, Tom searched the house for a pair of scissors. When he couldn’t find any, he opted to employ his own pocket knife for the task. Gripping the package with his left hand and knife with his right, in a moment’s swing of the blade he managed not only to slice through the plastic ties but his own wrist in the process. “Boom. It was just that fast. I cut through it and at the same time jabbed myself right here in the wrist. I mean it went straight in about a half an inch and it hit a vein. I pulled it out right away. It was just a normal reaction. And the blood just started gushing. It was pretty serious,” explained Tom of

the scary scene. “With a pocket knife you’re supposed to cut outward and I was just trying to get this thing open so quick that I wasn’t thinking about that rule.” Immediately grabbing his wrist with his right hand the desperate father attempted to put pressure on the wound, but the intense stream of blood that continued to escape signaled that he would need additional help, and fast. But the only other people in the house were his two sons: Jonathaan, too young to completely understand what was happening, and , a sufferer of high-functioning autism. Deciding to call out to his oldest son, Tom placed his faith in the hope that the boy would understand what to do. “Nick was inside watching cartoons and I yelled for him to help me He saw me with blood coming out and he was concerned, but he was real calm. That’s a little unusual for Nick because he has a processing problem, meaning that it takes him a while to do something,” said Tom. Though

, a first-grader at Sunrise Elementary School, has a high IQ — a test conducted in October showed that he had an above-average IQ of 113 — and his attention for detail has earned him a reputation for being a perfectionist, weak communication skills make it difficult for him to perform many of the tasks that other 7-year-olds take for granted. “The thing with is that he has a language delay and fairly severe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,” said . who explained that as his mother she knew at 18 months that there was something more to her son’s condition, a suspicion that was confirmed at 5 years old when ’ school diagnosed him with Asperger’s Syndrome, a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by, among other things, severe and sustained impairment in social interaction. “It’s more difficult for him to do a lot of things because he’s probably a year and a half behind where he needs to be in terms of his speech, his ability

to read and his communication abilities. A lot of it comes from the fact that you can be asking him a question, he’s looking directly at you and he’s not getting it because he’s not even listening to you. His mind is somewhere else.” Upon observing his father’s condition after accidentally slitting his wrist, however, it seems ’ attention was focused right where it needed to be. “I was standing by the sliding glass door and I asked him to get me some towels,” recalled Tom. Acting on his first instinct, rushed to the nearby kitchen and grabbed the first paper towel on the roll. Dragging it from its base he let the roll unravel throughout the house as he ran. Tom then clarified to his son that he needed a bath towel. Without instruction regarding where to find one, took off for the linen closet and returned with a large towel. “If hadn’t brought me those towels on time, I could’ve bled to death. That’s why I was afraid

to attempt to get the towels myself. I also asked him to bring me the telephone and he brought me that. I was able to grab the telephone and dial ’s number and ask her to come home. “Then I asked him to bring me the first-aid kit and he went and got that too. He even opened it up and pulled out alcohol pads and opened them. For him to do all that, I mean we have a hard time getting him to get dressed in the morning, so I was so proud of him. He was my hero,” said Tom. “He was hysterical when he called me,” said about her husband’s state upon calling her. “I told him to dial 9-1-1 and he said, ‘No. I want you to come home.’ He was in shock.” , who as a staff member at the Blanchard Park YMCA has CPR and first-aid training, rushed right home. “I came home and they already had the first-aid kit there,” she said. The family then drove to the emergency room at Florida Hospital East Orlando, but after waiting to no avail for over two

hours, and with 11 patients still ahead of them waiting to receive treatment from only one critical-care doctor, Tom decided to delay his treatment until the following day by using butterfly bandages and a tightly wound wrap to temporarily seal the gash in his wrist. “The next morning at 7 a.m. I went to the urgent-care facility and got a tetanus shot and two stitches,” said Tom, who took along with him during the trip to the doctor. Because ’ signature focus for detail often results in overstimulation for him, the sight of seeing his father receiving stitches and a shot proved to be too much for him to watch. So he opted to wait outside while his father finished up with treatment. “In hindsight, I probably should have called 9-1-1 because they could have come and stitched me up on the spot, but I was just being stubborn,” said Tom, who still wears a bandage wrapped around his injured wrist, a reminder of his son’s impressive actions.

“For him to follow my instructions perfectly, and help me so quickly, that is just above board for him. I could’ve died from the bleeding,” said Tom. “When you see him do things like that, it just makes your heart soar.” “He was so brave and smart,” said . “I wish I can tell everyone about it. People in this world don't think that children with autism are capable of doing amazing things, but they are.” No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG Free Edition.Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.17/226 - Release Date: 1/10/2006

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