Monday, March 31, 2008

Today, starting with its "American Morning" show, CNN is scheduled to air a story about Randy and Lynn Gaston, the Ellicott City couple raising triplet boys, all with varied degrees of autism. The network will also showcase the family Wednesday as part of its coverage for the first World Autism Awareness Day.

"The Gaston family, who didn't even know what autism was when their triplets were born, show us how they are able to take care of Hunter, Nick and Zach, and the valuable lessons that they have learned along the way," said Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent.

The Gastons and their triplets have become prominent figures over the past year. After a story about the family appeared in The Washington Post in June, the couple received hundreds of e-mails from around the world, many from people seeking solutions for affected family members.

"It created this giant ripple that just kept going," said Randy Gaston, a database administrator for the Maryland Association of Boards of Education in Annapolis. "We're still hearing from people from all over. It's good to know you're not the only ones experiencing all these problems."

An estimated 35 million people worldwide are believed to have autism, a mysterious, lifelong neurological disorder that impairs communication and social interaction and is more prevalent in boys than girls. Its diagnosis has climbed rapidly; the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated last year that as many as 1 in 150 children in the United States has autism or a closely related disorder.

The Gastons appeared on "Good Morning America" in late December and recently completed a public service message about the country's first interactive online autism registry, http://www.ianproject.org, a research initiative run by Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute with sponsorship from Autism Speaks, a national advocacy group. The couple also have a literary agent and have prepared a book proposal, tentatively titled "Three Times the Love -- Our Triplets with Autism."

The Gastons happily report signs of progress in their boys, who are nearing their seventh birthday. The boys attend intensive-needs classes at Howard County public schools, where the couple say small classes, skilled teachers and instructional aides have helped in their success. Zachary is on track to be mainstreamed into a regular classroom for much of the school day, and Hunter's vocabulary is expanding.

The biggest surprise came a few weeks ago from Nicholas, who hadn't talked since he was a baby, when he babbled a few words. At home, Lynn was tending to Hunter when she felt a tug on her arm and heard a voice. She looked for Zachary but didn't see him. Then she saw Nicholas looking up at her and repeating, "Momma."

In tears, Lynn called Randy at the grocery store.

"I heard his voice," Randy said. "It was so beautiful."

-- Susan DeFord