A Nottinghamshire family are hoping to remove the 'glass screen' of autism by raising money for potentially 'life-changing' treatment for their son.
Max Brett was diagnosed with autism at three years old. It is so severe that he is not even able to speak to his parents, Rebecca and Ian.
His mum and dad, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, said it felt as though they "had lost him a little bit" when he started to struggle communicating around the age of two.
"Max is completely non-verbal," Rebecca told Nottinghamshire Live.
"We see the autism almost like a glass screen and Max can't get through it. We know the words are in there but he can't communicate them. He runs a lot and struggles to sit still.
"A lot of toddlers have no fear but Max is at the next level. We can't have windows open as he will go out, he has no awareness of the dangers. He will run into traffic, he will try and break free and run into cars."
After being born at King's Mill Hospital in May 2017, Max failed his newborn hearing tests before being diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
"He had no hearing, a jet engine could fly over his head and he would not hear it," his mum recalled.
The family then sought specialist help at Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, who gave Max a Cochlear Implant - a small electronic device that stimulates hearing.
"It was a horrible decision to make but we did it and went forward. He was doing incredibly well. They were talking about using him as a poster child for Cochlear Implants.
"He was picking up speech, making eye contact, he was pointing."
However, Max's progression stopped at 22 months, before beginning to deteriorate. His speech began to disappear and he stopped making eye contact. He was diagnosed with autism months later.
"He went from being a very normal two-year-old to all of a sudden we felt like we'd lost him a little bit," said Rebecca, who gave up her job as a primary school teacher to care for Max.
Now, at the age of four, his parents are raising money for stem cell treatment - a method that, in spite of growing evidence, is still deemed experimental in the UK for autism.
The treatment would be carried out in Vienna, Austria, and would cost more than £11,000. However, dad, Ian, said it would be more than worth it.
"It could be massive, it could be life-changing for him, it would mean the world," said the 39-year-old healthcare worker.
Describing Max, his dad added: "He's like a ball of energy. Max does not stop, he runs, he jumps, he spins, he climbs everything. He's fearless with it.
"He's really full-on - so we're hoping for a bit of calmness as well. But at the same time we don't want to change Max, it's just all about lifting that 'mist' of autism, to give the opportunity for speech to come back through. But if not, we'll just go back to the drawing board."
To donate to Max's fundraiser, visit: just4children.org/a-voice-for-max/
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