Montana boy with autism wins national writing award

From KULR-8 in Billings, Mont.:

BILLINGS - It is estimated that 1 in every 150 children are autistic. As more children are diagnosed, more parents are looking for ways to connect to their own autistic children.

One Billings couple was once told their son would never be able to speak clearly, but Sunday he's winning awards with his words. Scott Benton, is in many ways just like any other eleven year old, spending his free time playing video games, or reading the latest best seller.

"I've read all of the Harry Potter books in the series, and now I'm done!" says Benton. But just a few years ago, these things seemed unimaginable, some say even impossible.

"We'd go to a public place and he would throw himself on the floor and he'd just scream," says Lisa Pasini, Scott's mother. Scott is among the 1.5 million Americans living with autism. A condition that significantly inhibits the ability to interact and communicate. The effects vary from child to child, and Scott's parents were told his autism would make life very difficult.

"The doctor told us he would never be able to read or ever tell you he loves you, we got the worst case scenario of what autism can be," says Pasini. But her devastation soon turned to persistence and hope. "Your heart just drops and I thought, oh gosh, but then I said 'no', we're going to do the best we can," she says.

The family moved to Billings three years ago and since, Scott's progress has made leaps and bounds. Now, he has an award to prove it. He entered a writing contest, and took second place in the nation.

"I heard her call my name and I hurried to her, and then she said I won the second place and I said yay!" says Scott.

Lisa says it helped raising Scott with discipline and a regimen, but most of all love. "Just never give up, never give up, and love is the key, just to break through those barriers." she says.

Scott's prize was a $50 gift card to Hastings Entertainment. He says he plans to buy lots of video games.