CLEVELAND — One Cleveland family shares the impact of lead exposure on their child, a problem known to be prevalent in Cuyahoga County.
Kyaira Massingille explains the impact this has had on her family.
Each time it rains, “it looks like it’s gonna cave in,” said Massingille, who struggles to keep up with the amount of paint that falls to the floor of her home.
Massingille said she had the paint tested by the health department last year and discovered it had lead.
Massingille said lead exposure is causing health problems for her 3-year-old son Anthony.
“I’ve been stressed out because of it, so stressed out and trying to make it better for him,” she said.
He tested positive for lead poisoning when he was under a year old, she said.
His mother said Anthony’s blood lead levels were more than 5 times what the CDC considers to be high.
“His doctor found something wrong with his behavior, and I didn’t really think anything of it. It’s my first child. So I thought maybe it’s just terrible twos,” said Massingille.
She said the doctor told her Anthony’s behavior is symptomatic of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). University Hospitals Pediatric Neurologist Dr. Max Wiznitzer said lead poisoning cannot cause ASD, but it can cause behaviors that mimic ASD.
“So, if you were going to ask me, ‘What would be the typical picture that I would see (with lead poisoning)?’ (It’s) a child who has delay of speech and is really a marker to some degree of what happens in terms of IQ,” Wiznitzer said. “Cognitively, their IQ scores are lower and that they have problems paying attention and staying on task.”
Wiznitzer said lead poisoning is not good for the developing brain, but if lead levels drop, Anthony’s behavior can improve.
“I just hope he overcomes that,” said Massingille.
She’s working to find them a new home, but due to the pandemic, Massingille is unemployed.
“I do hair to make my living and provide for my son until I find a steady job for me and he starts pre-school, so I’ll really be able to get a steady job and stuff like that. I’m a single mother, so it’s kind of hard,” she said.
In the meantime, she said she tries to clean as much as possible.
Anthony’s blood lead levels have dropped, but Massingille said it’s hard to keep up with a 3-year-old and keep lead paint chips out of reach.
“It’s really time to try to figure out where to go,” she said.
Spectrum News 1 was unable to reach Massingille’s landlord for comment.
An organization called Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing (CLASH) is now working to help the pair find a new home and help prevent lead poisoning from happening to other children.
“You think like, ‘Oh, I’m walking on lead. He’s walking on lead barefooted,’ and it’s really sickening,” said Massingille.
For information on your right to lead-safe housing, contact CLASH by voice message or text at 216-359-1060. You can also send an email to clevelandleadsafe@gmail.com.
