'Thank you Nintendo!!!': Pokemon GO helps autistic child overcome obstacles

'He was interacting with other kids."

Excited mother takes to social media after her 6-year-old son, Ralph, who suffers hyperlexia and autism, overcomes problems with help from Pokémon GO.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "Hyperlexia," Ralph's father Steve Koppelman explained, "is an unusually early ability to read. It's often accompanied by an all-consuming fixation on letters and words. It is usually considered a trait that manifests in a small percentage of kids on the autistic spectrum."

It is also a condition in which children are unable to use or understand verbal language. They often encounter difficulties in social interaction.

Though Ralph struggles with the syndrome, his mother Lenore Koppelman claims the popular phone app Pokémon GO has helped him overcome social issues.

Koppelman took to Facebook to explain the success Pokémon GO brought Ralph:

"I finally introduced Ralphie to Pokemon Go tonight....This thing is AMAZING. After he caught his first one at the bakery, he was shrieking with excitement. He ran outside to catch more.

"A little boy saw him and recognized what he was doing. They immediately had something in common. He asked Ralphie how many he had caught.

"Ralph didn't really answer him, other than to shriek 'POKEMON!!!!' and jump up and down with excitement while flapping his arms.

"Then the little boy showed him how many HE had caught (over 100!) and Ralph said 'WOWWWW!' and they high-fived. I almost cried.

"Then he saw his second Pokemon, sitting on Jenny Lando's front step. He caught that one and was so excited he shrieked again and began to jump up and down. Then she came out and he chatted with her about it, too! Then she pointed out to him that there was a lot of Pokemon activity at the playground.

"He begged to go. He NEVER wants to go to the playground at night, because it's out of his usual routine. He is normally SO RIGID about his routine. But tonight he was happy to change things up, and do it! We were in shock!

"And when we got there, other kids ran up to him to hunt for Pokemon together. He was interacting with other kids. Holy crap!!!! I didn't know if I should laugh, or cry.

"Then he wanted to go find more, and we walked down 30th ave. Adults were also hunting Pokemon, and these total strangers were giving him advice like 'there's one right around this corner, buddy! Go get it!' and he would run off laughing to get it. He would even look up at them and say 'THANK YOU!' and run off! WOW!!!!!

"MY AUTISTIC CHILD IS SOCIALIZING. Talking to people. Smiling at people. Verbalizing. Participating in pragmatic speech. With total strangers. Looking up at them. Sometimes even in the eye. Laughing with them. Sharing something in common. This is AMAZING....Thank you Ren Allen, for suggesting this. You were right. And thank you Nintendo!!! ASD mama's DREAM!!!!!"

Steve explained his son struggles with open-ended questions, particularly when those questions are asked by other children.

"But now, when we point out another person playing the game, or another kid approaches him because they see him playing it, he responds to them excitedly," Steve told BuzzFeed.

"For two years, Ralph insisted on a rigid routine after school: stopping at the same corner grocery for a bag of popcorn and a bottle of apple juice, followed by running to a bus stop, then taking the bus the mere eight blocks home, then counting the steps to the front door, then counting the steps up the flight of stairs, a routine developed during a winter," Steve recalled.

"Any attempt to change this routine would make him panic and melt down, and it could take hours for him to calm down again."

Now that Ralph plays Pokémon GO, Steve explained: "He sees the trip home as an opportunity to hunt Pokémon and will take any route home. He'll even come along on errands or go to the neighborhood playground instead of going straight home.

"He's pulled along by the lure of more items to collect or Pokémon to catch down the next block or around the next corner. He jumps and spins for joy when the phone vibrates to indicate a Pokémon has appeared within range on the map. Then he can't wait to tell everyone about it."

Though Ralph's new adventurous spirit has raised his parents' hopes, they remain careful to keep him from setting a new tightly-adhered-to schedule.

"We are trying to figure out strategies for not letting this become as deeply ingranied [sic] a routine as his old ones," Steve stated, adding he and Lenore were grateful for the game.

The Koppelmans no longer have to worry so much about Ralph wandering off on his own. The majority of the time, Ralph will stop at street corners and will return to his parents when they call him when only six months ago he was unable to do either.

"Sure, he still struggles sometimes," Steve admitted, "He always will. But this game has become a great tool for him to help him through it all."

Since Ralph's story went viral, several other parents of autistic children have stepped forward to share their success stories with help from Pokémon GO.

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