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Boy With Autism Thriving After One-On-One Work

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- When it comes to Autism, each case is different.

Ten-year-old Nahom did not talk much, and only made noises to communicate. He would get easily upset when his schedule changed.

"He can't be able to stand one place and he jump all over, you know, so it's hard for me to take him in a public area," said Alemtshay Assefa, Nahom's mother. "My friend tell me, 'Why don't you try to [use] Fraser, they are very helpful.'"

Nahom started going to Fraser's Eagan location last September. They offer individual-skills training, speech and occupational therapy for children with autism and other special needs.

"He had a really hard time even just greeting or saying goodbye. To say 'hi' to me and then say 'bye' to Mom was really hard for him," said Meagan Norlin-Weaver, a mental health practitioner at Fraser.

Nahom at Fraser
Nahom works with Meagan Norlin-Weaver at Fraser in Eagan (credit: CBS)

Nahom works one-on-one with Norlin-Weaver, as they work on communicating his needs and cognitive skills through playing games and other activates.

He has seen dramatic improvements.

"Since he start here, he can be able to manage himself, he can tell me what he wants," Assefa said. "It's really amazing."

She says her son has not only found a place to learn, but also staff that have become his friends.

"He loves them, too. He's like, 'When we go to Fraser, mommy?' He always asks me!" she said.

Nahom's story with Fraser is just one of many; giving a mother the chance to watch her son live his best life.

"It's really amazing job they do here," Assefa said.

Fraser has seven locations for education and therapy sessions.

Their ultimate goal is to open enough locations so that no family will have to drive further than 35 miles or 35 minutes to receive their services.

That's why we're Pulling Together next month. Nine teams from St. Paul and Minneapolis will go up against each other in a tug-of-war across the Mississippi.

Each team needs to raise $10,000 -- with 100 percent of that money going to Fraser. Click here to pick which team you want to support!

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