COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- For years it was called Shaken Baby Syndrome, but now medical professionals are calling it Abusive Head Trauma.

It is an injury that affects thousands of babies every year, many of which do not survive the damage done by their caregivers.

It is estimated between 1,200 and 1,600 babies are affected by Abusive Head Trauma every year in the United States -- numbers that local medical professionals and parents are working to decrease.

For Tom and Jackie Washburn, being on television is nothing new. Over the years the two have appeared in numerous stories and specials all focusing on their family, which is made up of more than a dozen people, half of which are severely handicapped.

Two of their adopted children, Steven and Matthew, are especially unique; both suffered severe brain damage as infants after being shaken by their parents.

"With Steven he was from Prowers County, and they contacted a local child placement agency that I was a foster parent with and that is how we got Steven. And with Matthew I was browsing the Internet on the adoption exchange and saw him and put in an application and got selected," Jackie Washburn said.

Washburn said of the two, the trauma Matthew suffered from being shaken was more severe than Steven's, leaving him completely dependent on the care of others, forced to breath through a trachea and eat with a feeding tube.

"I think when they are tiny babies you can just carry them around and you think at their first birthday they are going to rally and things will be better, but as they grow out of strollers and into wheelchairs you realize they are devastated and broken and they cannot be fixed," Washburn said.

Despite his disabilities, Washburn said Matthew thrived in their home as a young child, learning things like the color yellow, and feeling a sense of love from his parents, brothers, sisters and caregivers.

Then, just as Matthew was entering his teenage years this past winter, he came down with the H1N1 flu, and suddenly died.

"He passed away October 7th at the age of 13, and there were about 20 people in the room, and we were very blessed that his teachers from school came, and when we turned the vent off we were singing and had rosary beads made out of bells because he liked bells," Washburn said.

Matthew's death certificate indicated he was the victim of a homicide. Doctors told the Washburns he would not have died from H1N1 if his brain and body were not already compromised from being shaken as an infant.

Now, in light of Matthew's death, the Washburns are once again stepping up their efforts to remind parents it is never OK to shake a baby. The two are featured in an updated version of a video Memorial Hospital is making for all new parents

"What we have been doing is bedside education, and one-on-worse training with every new family when they have a baby, and we have been doing that since August," said Sally Duncay, trauma outreach specialist.

Duncan said since that time they have seen the number of Abusive Head Trauma cases at their facility drop significantly. She said it is important for all parents to know that a baby's brain can be damaged by more than just shaking.

"We want them to know it is frustrating to deal with a crying baby, so what we do at the bedside of every family is we educate them on how to deal with a crying baby and to have a backup plan on how to cope," Duncan said.

It is something the Washburns are proud to be a part of. They pray Memorial Hospital's new video will save the lives of babies in the years to come.

"I am hoping by seeing the torture Matthew went through it will inspire people to not shake a baby -- just put the baby down and just walk away," Washburn said.

As for Matthew's father, he is serving 21 years in a Texas prison for child abuse.

The Washburns do not think his sentence will be extended due to Matthew's recent death.