Son-Rise
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The Son-Rise Program is a home-based program for children with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities.[1] The program emphasizes eye contact, accepting the child without judgment, and engaging the child in a noncoercive way, and it hypothesizes that treated children will decide to become non-autistic.[1] Former advertising executive Barry Neil Kaufman and his wife Samahria Lyte Kaufman developed Son-Rise in the late 1960s and early 1970s while working with their son Raun, who was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, and who is claimed to have gone from being autistic to neurotypical via the treatment.[1]
No published independent study has tested the efficacy of the program. A 2003 study found that involvement with the program led to more drawbacks than benefits for the involved families over time,[2] and a 2006 study found that the program is not always implemented as it is typically described in the literature, which suggests it will be difficult to evaluate its efficacy.[3] More studies began in 2008.[4]
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[edit] History
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At four weeks old, Raun Kaufman had an ear infection that was treated with antibiotics, which caused severe dehydration and a several-day hospital stay; doctors feared Raun would suffer permanent hearing loss. Raun eventually started displaying autistic symptoms and was later diagnosed as severely autistic.[1] Although the Kaufmans were advised to institutionalize their child because of his "hopeless, lifelong condition",[5] they began a program of their own, based upon the idea that their child was engaged in these behaviors for a reason that made sense only to him.[citation needed] His parents tried to communicate with Raun not by overt attempts to force neurotypical behavior, but by imitating his endless rocking, plate spinning and other rituals, while gently introducing eye contact, speech and song for him to engage with if he would,[citation needed] until Raun, on his own, made direct eye contact with his mother during the treatment.[citation needed]
According to the Kaufmans, during an intensive program, Raun's autistic behaviors vanished and he became a highly verbal, socially interactive child with a near-genius IQ who went on to graduate from an Ivy League school.[5] By his parents' and his own accounts, he now leads a "normal" life.[citation needed] In 1983, the Kaufmans founded what is now known as the Autism Treatment Center of America (ATCA) to offer other parents the opportunity to learn how to create a play-based home program for autism spectrum children.[citation needed] The center is an independent non-profit organization, based in Sheffield, Massachusetts that offers training programs to parents, caretakers and therapists.[6][not in citation given]
In 1976, Barry Kaufman published Son-Rise,[7] a book about his son Raun's "triumph over autism", which he revised and added further material to in 1995 in Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues.[1] An NBC TV Movie Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love based on the book was broadcast in 1979. Kaufman left his career in motion picture advertising to treat autism, and to become a writer and consultant. Raun Kaufman's career has included stints with SCORE! Educational Centers, a tutoring program in the United States.[citation needed] He is the CEO of the Autism Treatment Center of America,[8] and is overseeing expansion of its treatment centers to the United Kingdom.[citation needed] The Son-Rise Program has been widely covered in the press;[citation needed] for example, a 1997 BBC documentary followed the family of a five year old autistic boy treated by the program.[9]
[edit] Treatment and philosophy
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008) |
At the Autism Treatment Center of America, parents are given training to help them encourage their child to interact and socialize more effectively. The acquisition of developmental skills plays an important role in the program, however the priority in a Son-Rise Program is encouraging socialization and communication abilities. While there are other programs that emphasize a play-based therapy, such as Dr. Stanley Greenspan's DIR/Floortime model, one of the distinguishing features of Son-Rise is its emphasis on loving and accepting the child just as he or she is, with the idea that the autistic child "senses" your attitude through your voice, body language and nonverbal behavior, and will learn to trust you.[citation needed] As Raun Kaufman put it, "… the children show us the way in and we show them the way out."[10]
The Son-Rise philosophy also states that if you approach the child with a positive, loving attitude, the child is more likely to interact than if you engage with a sense of underlying anger, despair, hopelessness and desperation. The idea is based upon the belief that any child, even an autistic child, is more likely to thrive by means of interaction and play with others who are having fun with the child and enjoying what the child enjoys.[11] As the child engages with the parent or caregiver, a constant attempt is made to expand the child's interest beyond "self-stimulating" behaviors. The overall technique is said not to reinforce self-stimulating behavior.[citation needed]
Many parents struggle to accept their child's diagnosis and the unique behaviors of autism. It is not uncommon for parents to experience guilt or fears for the future. Son-Rise says that, by offering parents support in these areas, parents are able to attain a greater degree of comfort playing with their child and in their day-to-day life with their child. They say this attitude, combined with specific play strategies, gives parents a greater opportunity to encourage more of the type of interactions that they wish to create with their child.
Son-Rise is volunteer-intensive with high turnover, and may require parents to fill in staffing gaps.[11]
[edit] Effectiveness
Although Son-Rise had never participated in published formal scientific evaluations of effectiveness,[11] clinical trials and a retrospective long-term study of program participants began in 2008.[4] Questions have been raised whether Raun Kaufman was actually autistic before being treated.[12] There are no documented normalizations with older children, and it may be that success "depends on a certain level of intellectual potential".[13] Some professionals have questioned the emphasis placed on eye contact and its potential aversiveness for some children.[11]
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.[12][14] 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.[2] 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.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Kaufman BN (1995). Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues. HJ Kramer. ISBN 0915811618.
- ^ a b Williams KR, Wishart JG (2003). "The Son-Rise Program intervention for autism: an investigation into family experiences". J Intellect Disabil Res 47 (4–5): 291-9. doi:. PMID 12787161.
- ^ a b Williams KR (2006). "The Son-Rise Program intervention for autism: prerequisites for evaluation". Autism 10 (1): 86–102. doi:. PMID 16522712.
- ^ a b Autism Treatment Center of America (2008-01-18). "Autism Treatment Center of America collaborates with Northwestern University, Lancaster University on scientific research to study the Son-Rise Program for autism treatment and education". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ a b History of the Son-Rise Program. Autism Treatment Center of America. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
- ^ Start-up program. Autism Treatment Center of America. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
- ^ Kaufman BN (1976). Son-Rise. Harper & Row. ISBN 0060122765.
- ^ Staff bios. Autism Treatment Center of America. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
- ^ I Just Want My Little Boy Back (1997). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ Yamshon L. Parents given hope…. Autism Treatment Center of America. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
- ^ a b c d Hauser C (2005). The Son-Rise Program. National Autistic Society. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ a b Herbert JD, Sharp IR, Gaudiano BA (2002). "Separating fact from fiction in the etiology and treatment of autism: a scientific review of the evidence". Sci Rev Ment Health Pract 1 (1): 23–43.
- ^ Jordan R, Powell S (1993). "Reflections of the Option method as a treatment for autism". J Autism Dev Disord 23 (4): 682–5. doi:. PMID 8106309.
- ^ Lack of support for interventions:
- Aman MG (2005). "Treatment planning for patients with autism spectrum disorders". J Clin Psychiatry 66 (Suppl 10): 38–45. PMID 16401149.
- Francis K (2005). "Autism interventions: a critical update" (PDF). Dev Med Child Neurol 47 (7): 493–99. doi:. PMID 15991872.
- Howlin P (2005). "The effectiveness of interventions for children with autism", in Fleischhacker WW, Brooks DJ: Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Springer, 101–119. DOI:10.1007/3-211-31222-6_6. ISBN 3211262911. PMID 16355605.
- Rao PA, Beidel DC, Murray MJ (2008). "Social skills interventions for children with Asperger's syndrome or high-functioning autism: a review and recommendations". J Autism Dev Disord 38 (2): 353–61. doi:. PMID 17641962.
[edit] External links
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