Leonardo Bresolin has become a huge advocate for CBD oil after seeing firsthand the effects the product has had on his son. 

Leonardo’s son Lucero was a quiet baby, but his parents began to see a noticeable change around the age of three and a half. 

“He just started to turn, from a little angel to a devil basically.” 

Things got really tough, says Leonardo. His dad couldn’t put him to bed, he couldn’t handle his mum leaving the house, and he was self-harming. 

“He would start punching himself, banging and smashing his head - he has scars from it.” 

His parents realised later that these outbursts were caused by Lucero’s frustration of not being able to express himself. The anxiety it caused was hard on Lucero and heartbreaking for his parents. 

When he was four years old, it got so bad they ended up taking him to hospital. It was there that Lucero was diagnosed with nonverbal autism on the spot. 

Doctors prescribed Lucero with an antipsychotic drug called risperidone, widely used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or irritability associated with autistic disorder. Similar to side effects of many heavy medications, Leonardo recalled how blank and zombie-like he became after taking the medication. 

One afternoon at a barbeque, a friend noticed the self harming and difficulty Lucero was having and asked if his parents had ever looked into CBD oil as an alternative treatment. 

Willing to try anything, and wanting to avoid heavily medicating Lucero any further, they did some research, and after finding multiple CBD and autism related Facebook groups, they decided to give it a go. 

From that moment on, life got easier day by day for the family. Lucero started medicating with 0.5mls to 2ml a day of CBD oil, twice a day, and within a week or two the impact was “outstanding”. 

After some considerable time Lucero’s mum was able to leave the house and he would stay calm. Leonardo could sit with Lucero on the couch and relax together, which was a whole new experience for the both of them. Leonardo was able to put Lucero to bed, and he would sleep through the night - something that had never occurred before he started taking CBD oil.

“CBD is the only thing we’ve given him since. Before this, we’d go to doctor's meetings and Lucero wouldn’t be able to sit in the room for two minutes without going crazy. Once Lucero was taking CBD oil, he’d happily sit in the office playing with the toys while we discussed his progress. It’s just made such a difference.” 

Leonardo explained the long-term goal has always been to taper Lucero off CBD, but says he has already stopped treatment for short periods to see how his son would react, and Lucero has been fine. 

“It’s hard to think back to that time now, before we began using CBD oil. We’re so lucky to have been introduced to CBD, it’s unbelievable. I’m obviously a big advocate, I’ll happily tell anyone because it’s changed our lives, it’s changed our son’s life. 

“When you get told your kid is nonverbal autistic at that age, you wonder what the future holds. And then one day you get a treatment that works, it’s like a miracle,” says Leonardo. 

“Now Lucero reads and he’s in a mainstream class. He takes music therapy, he sings, rides horses, he swims. We didn’t ever think he would get to where he is. Without CBD, who knows how things would have worked out. It has really been a game changer for all of us. 

Leonardo says all Lucero has ever wanted is to be a”‘real boy”. 

“He doesn’t want to be segregated, labelled, or made to feel different. He wants to do things like everyone else - CBD has helped make this possible.”