The family of Cooper Roberts, the eight-year-old boy shot during the Highland Park mass shooting, said Thursday he might be suffering some cognitive loss.
In the family's most recent update, the family shared the team at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab team is seeing "some patterns of behavior that may indicate some cognitive loss."
Cooper was not well enough or talking enough for the team to notice the issues earlier.
"Therapists are seeing short-term memory loss, issues with word recovery, and loss of acuity around fine motor skills," the Roberts family shared Thursday. "They are doing a comprehensive neurological and psychological evaluation this week and working on new therapies."
The AbilityLab team is helping the Roberts family with long-term needs for Cooper once he can go home. This includes assistive technologies he will need for daily living since he will grow up with a pediatric spinal cord injury.
"It’s overwhelming to consider," the Roberts family said. "We remain grateful for every prayer, kind wishes, gift, and donation, and for the good moments when our family can be together."
RELATED COVERAGE: 8-year-old paralyzed after Highland Park shooting off IV pain medication, feeding tube
Last week, the Roberts family shared Cooper no longer required IV pain medicine and antibiotics, and no longer needed a feeding tube.
With the tubes removed, Cooper can now maneuver his wheelchair better. His family shared a video of Cooper participating in a wheelchair race down the hallway at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab with his physical therapists.
WATCH: Cooper Roberts, 8, races in his wheelchair. (Courtesy: The Roberts Family)
