The beginning of SphingoBrain dates to the birth of founder Raymond's eldest son, Jun.
Jun’s language development was significantly slower compared to that of his peers. He was hyper-sensitive to noises and taste, and he always found physical contact difficult; to make matters worse, Jun struggled with severe eczema.
When he was 5, Jun underwent a behavioral evaluation at Seoul Asan Medical Center. Although the clinicians said that it’s difficult to diagnose yet, they suggested earlier education and intervention. Eight years later, Jun was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD-NOS) – later adapted under “autism spectrum disorder” (ASD) in DSM-5 – over the course of three evaluations. He received specialized education in the U.S. until going back to Korea to work as a library assistant.
If he were diagnosed earlier, could Jun's life have unfolded differently? Like other families with children diagnosed with autism, Jun’s family wondered how many families like them could have benefited from an economical, well-established diagnosis and monitoring system, as well as more effective interventional measures. This became the motivation to start SphingoBrain.