Page 2 - Eric Sadowsky News Today

>> reporter: new york state says its helping more and more people with developmental disabilities lead increasingly independent lives. it says its in the process of shutting down those sheltered workshops and trying to help people find jobs. >> ruth can sing a peanut butter sandwich made with jam. >> i had always thought when he got older i had this vague idea that he would have some kind of a job and that it would be over. and i am only adjusting now over the last two years in this transition p...

I built lessons. put together a daily plan for him. this is how it is set up for adults. you graduate and all education stops. and eric is nowhere near finished with his education. >> reporter: erics parents are also paying out of pocket for activities to get him out of the house. he has a gym membership, a music therapy class, and a companion to take him places. but it all comes at a staggering cost. do you have any idea how much money youve spent on care for eric? >> probably our least expensi...

Adults with autism. >> i had wanted to put him at one of the local ys. they said they had a special needs program. it turns out now they only go to 14. this is a phrase i hear from agency, program, center, all the time. >> reporter: on the day after his 21st birthday, eric walks into school for the last time. >> bye eric! >> no, sabrina. youre not done yet! wait until 2016. >> thats so far away! right now were in 2012. >> its really tough. i wish we had more of a plan for eric. >> reporter: josh...

Time. >> reporter: did you miss it? >> oh i was heartsick. >> reporter: but then on the other hand im sure you would do absolutely anything for your son. >> of course. thats what was happening. i couldnt say no to any possiblity of help for him. you know, i just saw so much potential. i knew this kid had so much in him, that any help that he needed, i, we gave to him. >> reporter: the symptoms of autism are measured on a spectrum. eric is roughly in the middle. there are many people who are far ...

For next year? >> reporter: erics not in trouble. he has autism and by law. he must leave school when he turns 21 in a few months. but his dad, richard sadowsky, says erics not done learning and he and mary are in a panic about what eric will do next. >> to abruptly end his time here is not a good idea for him. >> reporter: eric has been a student at the rebecca school for the past five years. its a private school dedicated to providing specialized support like speech and occupational therapy to...

Watched it straight for four hours. >> reporter: and nick has another common autistic trait, severe obsessive compulsive disorder. >> reporter: i saw him walking through a room. and he walked only on the edge of the room. >> hes developed a very, we call it choreography. it could take him two hours sometimes to cross a room. its painful to watch. >> reporter: nick needs individual attention thats hard to provide in a classroom. so his local school district sends aides to work with him one-on-one...

And in 40 some odd weeks from now, were gonna find out. >> reporter: the burden of caring for eric and nick will fall almost entirely on their families especially on their mothers and youre about to see what happens as they prepare for that life changing moment. >> reporter: in a sign of just how much progress nick has made his family is able to take him to his favorite place on earth, disneyworld. >> i think its a cause for celebration, because hes come such a long way. >> reporter: but will ni...

Is not a good idea for him. >> reporter: eric has been a student at the rebecca school for the past five years. its a private school dedicated to providing specialized support like speech and occupational therapy to children with developmental disabilities. >> its a place where hes understood and hes cared about. he loves the teachers. hes very, very attached to them. the rebecca school is like a family to him. >> reporter: its expensive too, $100,000 a year. after some costly legal wrangling, e...

Teachers and friends to stimulate his language skills, eric is already losing some of the speech he gained in school. >> so she cant sit in a sofa. circle. >> sofa or circle? >> circle. so he, so she cant sit in a so, in a circle. >> in a circle. >> hes sleeping 12, 13 hours. kind of drifting in and out of his room, singing to himself a lot. >> from a distance, there -- talking to himself a lot, really regressing into his own world. a lot of withdrawal. ♪ >> reporter: erics mother has explored...

>> reporter: and instead of weekly dinner dates with his mom, eric meets with a language coach his own age paid for by his parents. and their conversation sounds like any other dinner date. >> thank you for asking! >> good morning, pam! >> good morning! how are you today? >> reporter: but the best news is erics mom has traded the dayhab for something even better. hes been selected for a competitive art program for adults with developmental disabilities. its called pure vision arts and is a progr...