Daily Inspiration: Meet Cason’s Cause, Inc.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cason’s Cause, Inc..

Hello, Cason’s Cause Inc. We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today. Can you start by introducing yourself?
Our family started this non-profit in hopes of being able to reach and assist families with autism. Cason is the middle son of my three boys. Cason was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at 2.5 years old in May 2015. We have watched him develop typically and then begin to lose all his skills around fifteen months. It was difficult to persuade his doctor that something just wasn’t right. At that time, the pediatrician’s office that we went to had only 2 boys in the entire practice with ASD. Today, he has a support group for parents of children with autism. Once we received his diagnosis from a well-known hospital here in the South, we were told to find him ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) Therapy. This therapy would give him his “best chance” at a normal life. We live in a small, rural town on the Tennessee/Kentucky border. This therapy was not here and was only available in Nashville, which was a 1.5-hour drive one way from our house. Not only was this therapy not local, but it was costly. We were essentially paying college tuition for our two-year-old. His monthly ABA therapy cost us $2400/month for four days a week, where he received four hours each day. Back in 2015, this wasn’t covered by insurance, so it was completely out-of-pocket. We were a one-income family since we wanted to ensure that Cason could receive the needed therapies. Thankfully, we have a large family that has helped us ensure that he can receive these therapies. Not all families have a village like ours. We realized then just how financially straining a diagnosis of autism can be on a family. Cason continued receiving ABA therapies in Nashville until 2020, when we were able to enroll in a local ABA clinic. We learned about Duke University’s stem cell trial for autism and submitted an application to be considered. Cason made it through all the selections until the very end of 2019. At the last screening, it was determined that he wouldn’t be able to sit still long enough to complete the various assessment. As a mom, my heart was broken. I had heard so many success stories of stem cells for children with autism, and I had wanted him to participate. I knew about the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama, and we applied in March 2019. Cason was accepted, and with my parent’s help, we took him to the Stem Cell Institute. This was an expensive trip totaling nearly $20,000 for the week. The first round of stem cells helped Cason tremendously. He came back to us. He wasn’t living in his world. He realized that he had brothers again and began interacting with them. After we realized how beneficial these stem cells were for Cason’s improvement, we knew that we had to find other ways to raise money to take him back. This is how Cason’s Cause was formed. The money we raised from our first 5K was used to send Cason back to Panama an additional time. Cason could go back in January & November of 2019 to receive stem cells. Our first race was a great success, and our family wanted to give back to other families that faced the same challenges as us. So, our family decided to create Cason’s Cause Inc., a non-profit located in Macon County, Tennessee, and we help those affected by autism spectrum disorder. Our race continues to grow each year with community involvement and racers. Our 5K race in April of this year raised over $15,000. The money is distributed amongst applicants that need assistance with various needs. We have paid copays of ABA therapies and bought sensory items, swings, trampolines, iPad, and speech devices. We’re thankful for the opportunity to give back to our community. — Jessica

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road. In the beginning, I was told by the specialists that Cason would not talk, and if he did, it wouldn’t be intelligible speech. Another therapist also told me that his fine motor skills were so poor that he’d never be able to hold a pencil and that all his work would have to be on an iPad. He’s overcome these predications. It was also very difficult to find him the therapies he needed to succeed. We’re located in a rural country town, and therapies were not readily available here in 2015 when he was diagnosed. Throughout the journey, getting others to view him as a smart child has also been difficult. His limited conversational speech shows that he isn’t listening and doesn’t understand, but his receptive language is age appropriate.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Several of our family are teachers, and others are in the medical field.

Are books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Underestimated: An Autism Miracle by J.B. Handley. Anyone who knows or is involved with children on the spectrum should read this book. It is truly eye-opening.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @casonscause
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/casonscause