The Son-Rise Program®

History

The Son-Rise Program® was developed by Barry and Samahria Kaufman, whose son Raun was diagnosed with severe autism. After searching nationwide without finding a program they felt would offer hope for Raun's recovery, the Kaufman's decided to try to help him on their own. They designed an intensive stimulation program based on an attitude of unconditional love and acceptance. After three years of this home-based, parent-directed program, Raun completely emerged from his condition with no signs of autism. He went on to attend an Ivy League college where he majored in biomedical ethics.

The book Son-Rise, published in 1976, and made into a 1979 NBC-TV movie, chronicles their three-year program with Raun and updates the boy's development through age 20. A section of the book tells the stories of other families who have used the Son-Rise Program® to help their children.

The book A Miracle to Believe In, also by Barry Neil Kaufman, tells the story of the Kaufmans' work with another boy with severe autism. Although this child did not recover from autism, he showed significant improvement after a year and a half of intensive intervention by the Kaufmans and the child's parents.

As a result of great demand from parents wishing to learn more about this method, the Kaufmans founded The Option Institute and Fellowship (a nonprofit organization) in Sheffield, Massachusetts, in 1983. The Institute offers training for families wishing to create a home-based Son-Rise Program® for their children.

Treatment Overview

The Son-Rise Program® is based on a loving, non-judgmental attitude, which follows the child's lead or actions while simultaneously motivating them to expand their world.

Unlike behaviour modification, where the behaviourist (ABA) makes judgments about what is bad or undesirable behaviour while others are deemed good, the central idea is that the child will be motivated to find ways to reach out to parents and volunteers trained to present a consistent attitude of acceptance and enthusiasm.

The Options method considers the dignity of the child and his/her right to be who and how he/she is.

• Phase 1: involves showing a child that he/she is accepted and approved of unconditionally.
• Phase 2: involves showing the child that our world is beautiful and exciting too. By using energy, enthusiam and excitement, an appealing atmosphere is created in order to entice the child to depart from their ritualized arena of autism.
• Phase 3: develops an instruction program for the child by breaking down each activity into small manageable parts. Activities are endless and my include matching and sorting, games, feeding yourself etc.

The unique feature of the Son-Rise Program® is the foremost commitment to happiness. By using a gentle, non-directive approach known as The Optiva Dialogues, parents are first encouraged to explore their beliefs about themselves and their situation. These dialogue sessions provide a time and place to question judgments that are limiting and to affirm the power of a truly loving and accepting attitude. Personal Optiva Dialogue sessions play a major role in the Son-Rise Program® both at the Institute and in home-based programs run by parents trained at the Institute. Parents are encouraged to continue using these skills to explore their beliefs and to become the most loving and accepting teachers they can be for themselves and their special child.

Parent training also includes defining base lines, observing behaviour, documenting progress, and developing program strategies for working with the individual child. Because of the time intensive work typical of the home-based Son-Rise Program®, parents are encouraged to recruit volunteers to help them work with their child. During their stay at the Institute, parents are given advice on how to carefully recruit, train, and monitor the work of volunteers in their program. For families who have established home-based Son-Rise Programs® for their children, the Option Institute offers outreach and support services as well as Advanced Family Training Workshops.

High-energy play sessions in an environment geared specifically for a child with autism are also features of a home-based Son-Rise Program®. The Son-Rise Program® innovated an educational treatment modality which included joining children instead of going against them. The program places parents as key teachers, therapists and directors of their own programs and utilizes the home as the most nurturing environment in which to help their children. The Son-Rise Program® dared to suggest that respect and deep caring would be the most important factor impacting a child's motivation to learn.

For more information on the Son-Rise Program® contact
Autism Treatment Center of America
2080 S. Undermountain Road
Sheffield, MA 01257-9643 USA
Phone 413-229-2100

Click Here to learn more about the Son-Rise Program®