Parents with autistic children willing to donate their brains to research

Some parents of children with autism are taking a bold step to help researchers understand the disorder.  They are signing up to donate their children's brains to science after they die.   

Andrew Koch loves to bake with his mom. The 18 year old has autism. His mother Carol Koch said, \"Between 1 and 1 and a half it kind of became clear he wasn't doing the interactive play other children did.\" Carol knows research is critical to understanding the causes of the disorder, so she signed up for “Autism Brain Net.” The  new nationwide research program is enrolling families willing to donate the brains of their loved ones to science after death. 

Dr. Patrick Hof is with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, \"to study the disease in a way that is currently not possible;and with that new information to open up new avenues for potential treatments.\" The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai  is one of four institutions around the country that will collect and store brain tissue of people with autism. That tissue will then be supplied to scientists conducting research.

More than seven thousand families have signed up for Autism Brain Net, including the Koch family. Carol said, \"this could really make a difference for future generations.\" Carol now speaks to other families, hoping their donations to research will bring scientists closer to finding a cure.

Research shows the structure of autistic brains is different from normal brains.  
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