A Bradford mother has made a heartfelt plea for help for her little boy who suffers from autism.

Kym Platts says her four-year-old son Kieran needs specialist intensive therapy to enable him to realise his potential - but it comes at a cost.

The family, which includes dad Keith and daughter, seven-year-old Kelly, have pledged to do all they can to find the £25,000 it will take to provide 40 hours a week of therapy for him at their home in Carter Lane, Queensbury. They also need to find people who are willing to be trained as therapists and join a task-force to help Kieran.

A workshop will be held at their home on March 12 and 13 when a consultant will be visiting from America to assess Kieran and work out a programme for him.

At the moment Kieran attends a nursery in Thornton but the family believes a therapy developed in the US offers the best hope for him.

Mrs Platts said she first heard of the therapy, known as Lovaas Behavioural Therapy, when she saw a family from Scarborough on TV, being interviewed about how it had helped their child. She contacted them and found out more about the programme which is offered by the Centre for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD), which has its headquarters in California.

CARD is one of the largest organisations in the world providing applied behavioural analysis (ABA), which is shown to result in a 47 per cent recovery rate for children diagnosed with autism.

Mrs Platts, said: "Kieran had been written off by other people and I knew this is what we needed to do for him. With one-to-one help he can learn in different ways."

The family were shattered when Kieran was first diagnosed with autism just over a year ago. He has no language and doesn't understand social situations, which makes his behaviour difficult.

"Instead he finds solace in watching the same familiar videos over and over, flicking through an old catalogue or lining up his bricks," said Mrs Platts. "But we feel he has so much potential."

The family has already converted a room to use for the therapy and Mrs Platts has attended a training session in London.

The family are prepared to pay £5 an hour for anyone interested in training as a therapist and has a few hours a week to spare.

"We want people who are enthusiastic, energetic and open-minded and who have staying power and will build up a rapport with Kieran," said Mrs Platts. Anyone who wants to train as a therapist or can help the family in any way is asked to contact them on (01274) 884611.