Questions about the future weigh heavily on the minds of parents of autistic children — questions that, unfortunately, have not yet been answered by medical science.

For Katheryn Herrera of Yuma, those questions have been particularly burdensome as she waits for an answers about a condition that was diagnosed first in her 8-year-old son Cristo, and then his two younger brothers.

"It's an understatement to say it's very painful, and on top that to multiply it by three," Herrera said. "I have been dealing with it for many years."

Cristo was diagnosed with light autism at an early age, she recalled. "I knew something was wrong with him. Even the way he cried was different, with a bawl that was very exaggerated. He always seemed anxious and afraid."

While there may be no certaintly of finding a cure for autism, science has at least developed a number of therapies that can improve the quality of life for autistic children.

In Yuma, Dr. Magda Trujillo practices one of them. Though not well known in this area, Auditory Integration Training (AIT) is based on the ear's influence on various cerebral functions, behavior and even body movements.

"This training regulates the auditory and vestibular system; that is to say, the ear and the system that helps us in motor coordination," Trujillo said.

She explained that when we hear a sound, the frequency carries from the outer ear to the inner area and the vestibular area, followed by chemical reactions that send electrical charges toward the brain.

"When we do this type of (medical) intervention, we are regulating changes in the patterns in how people listen. It has been observed that people with developmental problems don't hear in the normal way, especially children within the spectrum of autism."

Cristo is undergoing this therapy with Trujillo, and his mother said he is showing improvement in his behavior.

"At first, it was very small, but when he returned to school, they saw a difference from the previous year," Herrera said. "You notice a difference what you compare him with children his age."

A graduate of the Ponce School of Medicine in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Trujillo has been practicing the AIT technique since she started her practice in Yuma in 2008.

"Children listen to music for 10 days, two times a day for a half-hour," she said. "It's popular music pre-tested to present different frequencies in different tones to give flexibility to some of the muscles we have in the middle ear, so that the sounds flow and all the electric charges occur to process the message" and bring about comprehension, she explained.

Developed in France, AIT was introduced in the United States in the early 1990s, Trujillo said.

"There has been a lot of study of this intervention (AIT). It has been tested with children with autism and dyslexia. Studies have found that music relaxes people with those conditions and helps them to make other neural connections."

Herrera said her other two sons have begun the AIT therapy. 

The sooner the therapy can be given to children, the better, Trujillo said. "The brain is more malleable, and it can adapt better."

April is Autism Awareness Month, and many myths and misinformation surround the condition, said Trujillo, who added she has diagnosed in almost 70 percent of the youths she treats cases of autism ranging in degree from light to severe.

"There is a lack of information," she said. "People who don't know what autism is see a child screaming and the first thing they think is that the mother doesn't know how to control her child. Autism is a condition where the the child is going to react in a different way according to where he happens to be, and the parents have nothing to do with that."

She underscored that while signs of autism can be varied, parents should educated themselves about the condition so they can seek care as soon as symptoms arise.

"There is always the fear about whether a child can have an independent life, but many people with autism have it."

Trujillo's practice is located in Suite 8 at 2281 W. 24th St. Telephone is 783-0092.