The story of Brooke
Dom was born in Quincy, IL. His mom knew something was different at a very young age. At four, Dom was diagnosed with Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, he is autistic and nonspeaking, he has epilepsy, he has a profound intellectual disability, ADHD, anxiety/PTSD, communication disorders, life-threatening self-injurious behaviors, etc. At 8 years old, after Whole Exome Sequencing, he was diagnosed with MWS.
His mother woke up terrified every day for about a year, scared that he would die because he would headbang hard. Through windows (6-7 in about a year), walls, concrete, etc. It happened around 200+ times a day and she knew any one hit could be the one that gave him lasting brain damage or killed him. She begged doctors for help, and they just threw antipsychotics (that didn’t help) at him.
Dom has a 6-year-old NT daughter and at 4 years old, she learned how to use impact pads to protect herself. Their mother couldn’t leave them alone together for even 10 seconds while she used the bathroom. His sister is doing great now, and they absolutely love seeing each other.
After being restrained nine times in Kindergarten, Dom was out of school for a year and a half before he was accepted into an amazing residential program called Hope. Hope saved his life.
He is doing great at school, even after all the trauma he endured. He could barely ride in a car because of the feeling of restraint from his car seat, and couldn’t step foot in a school. Now he is doing amazing and his teacher is an angel. He loves school and his teacher. He has a best friend. He has so many opportunities now. Ones that he would have never had before.
Now he also has the best medical team he has ever had. They want him on the least amount of medication. They are all specialized and work so well with him. He sees many wonderful specialists.
Dom loves rainbows, plants, and cars. Most of all, he loves his family. He always hands out the best hugs and is a very special young boy. ??