Son-Rise
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Son-Rise is a home-based program for children and adults with
autism spectrum disorder The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental disorder, neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) ...
s and other
developmental disabilities Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...
, which was developed by Barry Neil Kaufman and Samahria Lyte Kaufman for their son Raun, who was diagnosed with autism and is claimed to have fully recovered from his condition. The program is described by
Autism Speaks Autism Speaks Inc. is a controversial autism advocacy organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, an ...
as a "child-centered program that places parents as the key therapists and directors of their program." Parents are trained at the Kaufman's Autism Treatment Center of America (ATCA) - the division of The Option Institute in Sheffield, Massachusetts that teaches The Son-Rise Program. There, the Kaufman family and their fellow staff members teach families and professionals how to be aware of their attitudes—a core principle of the therapy—for bonding and relationship building, as well as creating a low-stimulus, distraction-free playroom or a room of attention environment so the autistic person (child or adult) can feel secure and in control of the
over-stimulation Stimulation is the encouragement of development or the cause of activity generally. For example, "The press provides stimulation of political discourse." An interesting or fun activity can be described as "stimulating", regardless of its physic ...
. Parents and facilitators join in an autistic person's exclusive and restricted
stimming Self-stimulatory behavior, also known as "stimming" and self-stimulation, is the repetition of physical movements, sounds, words, moving objects, or other repetitive behaviors. Such behaviors (also scientifically known as ' stereotypies') are fo ...
behavior until the autistic person shows social cues for willing engagement. Then encouragement for more complex social activities is done in a non-coercive way. If the autistic person moves away from social interaction, the facilitator gives the autistic person their space by using
parallel play Parallel play is a form of play in which children play adjacent to each other, but do not try to influence one another's behavior; it typically begins around 24-30 months. It is one of Parten's stages of play, following onlooker play and preced ...
in order to gain the child's or the adult's trust. To encourage skill acquisition, the program uses the autistic person's particular motivation for learning. The program's developers claim if the parents learn to accept their loved one without judgement that they will teach themselves to interact with others, and that this will allow them to engage in social interaction because they chose to learn the skills. A 2003 study found that involvement with the program led to more drawbacks than benefits for the involved families over time, though there was a strong correlation between patterns of intervention implementation and parental perceptions of intervention efficacy. A 2006 study found that the program is not always implemented as it is described in the literature, which means it will be difficult to evaluate its success and failure rate.


History

In the 1970s, Barry and Samahria Kaufman created the treatment modality for their son, Raun, who had been diagnosed with severe autism. However, it remains unclear if Raun Kaufman had ever been autistic. Of the five clinics who evaluated the boy in New York State—each describing him as "socially withdrawn and uncommunicative," it was only the sixth clinic that felt he was autistic. In 1976, Barry Neil Kaufman published ''Son-Rise'', a book recounting his son's claimed recovery, which he
self published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...
in 1995 with the title ''Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues''. The book was adapted into a televised
docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...
film, called '' Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love'' and aired on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
. Today, Raun Kaufman is the Director of Global Education for the Autism Treatment Center of America. A 1997 BBC documentary followed the family of a five-year-old autistic boy treated by the program.


Effectiveness

There are no documented normalizations with older children, and it may be that success "depends on a certain level of intellectual potential". Some professionals have questioned the emphasis placed on eye contact and its potential problems for some children. The consensus within the medical community is that there is no cure for autism and only a very few treatments have empirical evidence for improvements in symptoms. A 2003 study found that involvement with the Son-Rise Program led to more drawbacks than benefits for the involved families over time, although family stress levels did not rise in all cases. A 2006 study found that the Son-Rise Program is not always implemented as it is typically described in the literature, which suggests it will be difficult to evaluate its efficacy. In 2009, United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority sanctioned the Option Institute for a misleading ad claiming Son-Rise as an autism cure. As of 2017, there was little evidence supporting the program.


References


External links


Autism Treatment Center of America
{{Autism resources Autism-related organizations based in the United States