Page 2 - Eric Sadowsky News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> at this point under the law, no. >> reporter: what's more, lewis says states split their medicaid dollars between the poor and people with disabilities. she says it all adds up to a system that can't take that much weight. >> i think that the programs are overstressed with the numbers. i mean it's why we see wait lists. >> reporter: is that the bottom line, we just don't have the budgets? >> we have not addressed the need for long-term services and support in this country. >> reporter: and lewis says she understands fighting for the resources that do exist is hard on families. she says the ...

Running around the apartment where he lives with his mother, father, and sister. >> he was a beautiful toddler, running up and down the halls, chasing our labrador retriever. he was such a loving child. and so attachd to me. >> reporter: but when he was about 18 months old, mary noticed eric only had a few words. and he'd become repetitive playing an old cassette tape again and again. >> and so that was the first hint. the pediatrician then said, "it's time to get him looked at." i don't think he got a full diagnosis of autism until he was three. but by two and a half, we were on it and had st...

Volunteer work. >> it's simple things like setting tables, um delivering mail. they even have dog walking, delivering meals to the elderly. >> let's get to work everybody. >> eric's doing excellent job working. >> while they don't do that much, it's better than most and he has a mix of young people to be with and he has friends. >> reporter: but what eric and his mom don't know is that there's something even better right around the corner. >> reporter: coming up, a little light at the end of a long tunnel. >> he is really a gifted artist. and i see really good things coming out of this. with u...

>> reporter: with no more teachers and friends to stimulate his language skills, eric is already losing some of the speech he gained in school. >> so she can't sit in a sofa. circle. >> sofa or circle? >> circle. so he, so she can't sit in a so, in a circle. >> in a circle. >> he's 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: eric's mother has explored free day programs offered by the state known as "dayhabs." she didn't...

Now. >> reporter: we've watched them struggle to find resources. >> he's falling apart. he's a mess. and i need help and i need help like two months ago. >> you don't feel like you can do it this morning? >> reporter: and battle to build a future for their sons. our story starts months before their worlds turn upside down on a warm summer evening in new york city where eric and mary are out on their weekly date. >> eric's in the congo, nothing can go wrong-o. >> he's not afraid, not afraid, not afraid >> he's not afraid, not afraid, not afraid, not afraid. >> reporter: over dinner, eric and hi...