Autistic Boy Refused To Speak To Anyone, Then “Pokemon Go” Opened His Life.

Ralphie Koppelman’s autism coupled with hyperplexia kept him from making eye contact with strangers, speaking with others, and caused him to panic with the slightest change to his routine. But one day everything changed. Ralph’s family introduced him to the wildly popular game, Pokemon Go.

It was like seeing a small miracle as they witnessed the changes in the behavior of their son. The 6-year-old had always struggled socially, but playing the game for the first time unlocked something special inside of him. He finally started coming out of his shell.

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Lenore Koppelman

“I would call it Ralph’s first taste of what it’s like to have something in common with the rest of the world,” his mom, Lenore Koppelman, told TODAY, noting that her son’s usual interests are drawing, world maps and flags. “He gets excited enough that he wants to reach out and communicate. It’s like an awakening in his socialization.”

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Lenore Koppelman

That first night, Ralphie broke his routine and charged outside on the search for the elusive, virtual creatures. A neighbor suggested they try out the local park. Without hesitation Ralphie took off!

“Much to our shock, once she said there’s a lot of Pokemon, he said, ‘Let’s go to the playground.’ “That’s when we knew something big was happening.”

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Lenore Koppelman

When they arrived at the playground, a place that would usually be stressful for Ralphie, he was surrounded by a group of kids asking if he was playing Pokemon Go. Raphie screeched with excitement, laughing and jumping up and down, and ran off with his newfound friends.

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Lenore Koppelman

“This all sounds so melodramatic, but to say it’s not true would be a lie,” Koppelman said. “It’s our own little miracle.”

Check out the video below.

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