To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

CHARLOTTE—Research shows its symptoms show up between the ages of 4 and 10 and often are misdiagnosed as attention deficit disorder. However, if it is not caught early, a disease known as Adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD, is potentially fatal.

It is for this reason Janis Sherwood has gone to great lengths to spread awareness about ALD and its potentially dangerous symptoms. Since April, Sherwood has visited Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. She has hit nearly 1,500 medical centers in 34 states. Three years ago she started in San Diego, Calif.

Now, she said it is time to cover the East Coast.

"I'm going to go all the way north and then come down the east coast," said Sherwood.

According to the Mayo Clinic, ALD is an inherited disorder that leads to progressive brain damage, failure of the adrenal glands and death. Sherwood says it affects 1 in 15,000 boys, including her son who died 6 months after his diagnosis at the age of eight.

"After losing my son, I decided to take matters into my own hands and try to get this information directly into the hands of physicians, nurses, pediatricians, the medical schools, children's hospitals so they can start ordering this test on a more regular basis for boys in general," said Sherwood.

Sherwood visited nearly 50 medical facilities in North Carolina. For more information about ALD, visit Fight ALD