When Jack was diagnosed with Autism I spent hours on the Internet searching for information, and looking for support. In my search I came across a child centred program that would be perfect for Jack, 'The Son-Rise Program'® at the Autism Treatment Centre of America(TM).

The Son-Rise Program was originally developed by a family called the Kaufman's in 1974. Barry Neil Kaufman (Co-Founder/Co-Director, Option Institute and best-selling author, Happiness Is A Choice) and Samahria Lyte Kaufman (Co-Founder/Co-Director, Option Institute. She is also Co-Founder of the Autism Treatment Center of America) developed the program for their son Raun who was diagnosed as severely autistic. Raun was tested as having an IQ of less than 30, his parents were told to put him in an institute and forget about him. Thankfully the Kaufmans did not accept this and chose their own path.

They spent hour after hour working with Raun in their bathroom where there was no distraction, starting out by joining him when he engaged in repetitive, solitary play. They wanted to gain an understanding of why he played that way and they just wanted to do anything to be close to their precious little boy!

The results they got from their loving and accepting attitude where far beyond any expectations!

The Son-Rise Program was born, and Barry (Bears) and Samahria started to get calls from families all over the world asking if they could help their special children too.

Raun K Kaufman now has no diagnosis and is completely cured of Autism. He has graduated university with a degree in Biomedical Ethics and works as an international Speaker, Writer and Teacher for the Son-Rise Program. He is CEO or Chief Executive Officer of The Option Institute and Autism Treatment Center of America (tm)

You can watch an interview with Raun on the website at

www.autismtreatmentcenter.org

They have lots of webinars there that you can see and learn lots of really useful techniques to help your special child.

Son-Rise has helped thousands of families since the program originated and is going from strength to strength. I like this program as it concentrates on Jack as a person and works on his abilities, all too often since Jack has been diagnosed people have presumed they know him and how he should behave just from the label he has been given and I find this very frustrating. At Son-Rise they work on the theory that in order to get your child to join you in your world, you firstly have to accept him in his!

Son-Rise say they don't offer a cure but they offer hope, which is all we need. 'We do not put limits
on the possibilities for your child, You're not giving up on your child, neither are we'. We can help you to bring your child as far across the bridge from Autism to recovery as possible. For some, this means complete recovery. For others, this means improvements in their child's development, human connection, communication, skill acquisition and quality of life far beyond what most would have ever predicted.

Unfortunately our government don't yet provide funding for the full program. It is possible to apply for a grant with a charity called The Caudwell Children if you do your training in London and you may be entitled to a scholarship if training in America. The staff at Son-Rise are extremely helpful and can support you in finding a way to take part in the program. Trust me its nowhere near as hard as you think! and it will be the best thing you could ever do!!