Son-Rise program?

[Guest guest]

has anyone heard about the Son-Rise program and if yes, have you used it?

[Guest guest]

heard about it - got the dvd read, researched, but too expensive and impossible with our lifestyle to go and get the training to implement ourselves for all the necessary parties, esp with split custody situation and divorce - looked promising though if you can swing it - I have heard floortime and RDI are pretty similar and it is easier to get the training locally

To: autism-aspergers Sent: Thu, June 2, 2011 10:08:38 AMSubject: Son-Rise program?

has anyone heard about the Son-Rise program and if yes, have you used it?

[Guest guest]

Hi -

Yes I am familiar with the Son Rise Program. The training center (The Options Institute near Boston) is where one of the families I am currenly serving has traveled to become trained themelves. Barry Kaufman (Founder/father/author) has a highly child-directed approach with the main focus on relationality. Great focus right! And frankly I wish more programs addressed the critical underlying/foundational issue of relationality. But when the mom brought her son to our program she stated that her son needed something more.. like the next level ...as while he could "relate" - that was about all he could do, as she put it. He had no success with the many school environments they tried as most schools are highly adult-directed (not child-directed per se). She ended up homeschooling him as she felt that was the only option as

he hadn't yet learned skills to tolerate structure or adapt to even other peoples ideas). That placement idea became overwhelming, and stagnated him a bit (but he remained relational with her and his siblings/father who also trained in Son Rise I believe). So she searched for a more comprehensive program and was referred to us.

He enrolled about 3 months ago and our team of autism specialists - along with mom - are discovering many things that probably should be un-learned as mom's goal is for him to be adaptive when other people attempt to help him learn, or when they offer their own ideas for a game or activity. (Now he "tantrums" as she calls it - like protesting her suggestion to poop on the potty and not the floor). This process of unlearning poor schemas and planting "good" schemas, called "dissassemblence" is going well. Its slow - but is going well because our model is ALSO child-directed - but teaches adative behavior WHILE building realtionality, and also while integrating the senses (he has terrible sensory issues, promoting self-care skills, and facilitating play, cognition and social/communication skills! So now things are win-win for him and for the first time

he is developing speech, peeing on the commode, and attending to mini lessons like ABC's and 1,2,3's -sometimes even at a desk! Not bad for 3 months (and he only come 10 hrs a week - what we call our Partial Day Treatment Progran rather than the full day) We are sooo happy for him and for this amazing family whose lives are slowly beginning to revolve around things other than just his ideas. They are still highly realtional (and always will be as we too promote) but now as mom says - they're getting their life back. So nice that other programs can compliment the Son Rise Program so well.

If you'd like I can maybe ask the mom to chat with you.. she can explain her own perspective on Son-Rise and maybe compare for you the program he is now using with us called The S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Approach. Her son is 8 and has so much more to learn - and mom knows we will be hitting some things hard as our staff is obliged to help him catch up ..but now with some cool new skill sets~ Love when moms keep the faith and find their way to what their little guys need.

Lynette