from nysaba list: airs April 22 on ABC television network

[Guest guest]

Thursday, April 22 at 10 p.m. ET

A couple learns their three babies are all autistic, inspiring a desperate

journey to help save the boys from lives of complete isolation

http://abcnews.go.com/Sections/Primetime/

" Primetime Thursday "

Dreams Turned Into Nightmares: Marc and Sophia Augier were overjoyed when their

dream of a big family quickly became a reality with the birth of son Marcel and,

little more than a year later, twin boys Christof and Henri. Yet that dream

turned into a nightmare when they found out that, incredibly, all three babies

suffered from autism.

Devoting Their Lives: This mysterious and complex developmental brain disorder

-- which affects an estimated one in 250 children -- has no known cause or cure.

Vargas reports that the Augiers decided to devote their lives and

their savings to pursue a cutting-edge -- and sometimes controversial -- therapy

for their sons in an effort to prevent them from slipping away forever into a

world of utter isolation. " Primetime Thursday " airs April 22 at 10:00pm EDT on

the ABC Television Network.

Dedicated Family, Dedicated Therapists: The Augiers discovered that a nearby

hospital, the Cleveland Clinic, was starting a center for autistic children.

With the clinic's help, they turned their basement into an intensive therapy

facility for their children and hired a team of dedicated therapists.

Applied Behavior Analysis: Using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a form of

behavioral modification which involves constant repetition, reinforcement and

praise for success, the therapists were able to help the boys re-learn much of

what they had lost, and dramatically improve their ability to communicate.

The Reality : But this level of intensive care is expensive, and with Marc

jobless and insurance and the government unwilling to pay for it, the Augiers

were forced to exhaust their life savings. They tell Vargas about their dramatic

journey, and the desperate fight to now get the local school district to pay for

their children's therapy. Anything less, they fear, will mean losing their boys

all over again. From Adelle on Tilton,Your Guide to Autism/Pervasive

Developmental Disorders.