Sheffield, MA, USA 01257

Course Curriculum

The Son-Rise Program Online Course Contains:

[9 Months of Course Materials – Go At Your Own Pace]

  • Lectures
  • Interactive “One Click” Participation Activities
  • Video Demonstrations
  • Worksheets
  • “Make It Happen” Guides with concepts to remember, things to do, practice guidance, and observation worksheets
  • (two) 8-Week After Courses Including:
    • Daily Activities
    • Sensory Spotlights
    • Attitudinal Support
  • Library Access with regularly expanded/updated content

NOTE: At specific relevant points, the course offers an option for “Highly Verbal” content that you may choose in order to access the curriculum that is most applicable to your child.

Part 1:

1.1 The Insiders Guide to Your Child

You will learn all about your child’s magnificent world, – and how to understand your child’s experience from the inside out. By learning to see your child’s Red Lights and Green Lights, you will be able to see what’s really happening with your child. And, you will gain a game-changing tool – The Son-Rise Program ABCs – that will enable you to determine which approach is most useful in any moment with your child.

Content – 26 Sections Covering:

  • Finally, really, understanding your child’s experience
  • The Son-Rise Program ABC Model
  • Red Lights: Recognizing the signs that your child is in their ‘own world’
  • Green Lights: Recognizing the signs that your child is ready to interact and be challenged
  • “Make it Happen” Guide (Concepts to Remember, Things to Do and Techniques to Practice)

1.2 Interaction 101

This section teaches a very important topic at the heart of autism: Interaction. You will first learn how to be with your child’s repetitious behaviors (“stims”) by using the groundbreaking technique of “Joining”. You will also discover the four key strategies for lengthening your child’s Interactive Attention Span – the platform upon which all learning and growth is built, as well as what it means to work your child’s ‘weak muscle’ and increase their ability to connect and engage with others.

Content – 33 Sections Covering:

  • The technique of “Joining” as a gateway for bonding and interaction
  • Video demonstrations
  • The difference between Attention Span and Interactive Attention Span
  • What it means to work your child’s ‘weak muscle’ and why it is important
  • Autism as a social relational disorder
  • Why human interaction is more important than academic skills
  • The four ways to build your child’s Interactive Attention Span
  • “Make it Happen” guide (Concepts to Remember, Things to Do and Techniques to Practice)

1.3 Communication 1:1

Here you are going to learn all about verbal communication. We will give you simple techniques that will allow you to help your child: grow their ability to verbally communicate, become motivated to use spontaneous, interactive language, and use speech as a vehicle for human connection. These will include: the “Name It” technique, “Conversation Starter Statements,” and how to avoid “The Secret Language Stopper”.

Content – 38 Sections Covering:

  • The importance of listening
  • How to respond to speech (and attempts at speech)
  • The power of pausing
  • The “Name It” technique
  • Why asking questions can be counterproductive
  • Generating child-initiated communications
  • The Communication Ladder
  • “Conversation Starter Statements”
  • “The Secret Language Stopper”
  • “Make it Happen” Guide (Concepts to Remember, Things to Do and Techniques to Practice)

1.4 Motivation 101

In this section, you are going to learn about The Son-Rise Program® Motivation Principle. You will see why motivation is the single largest factor for your child’s growth. You’ll learn how to use your child’s motivations and interests to lengthen his/her Interactive Attention Span – the platform upon which all learning and growth is built. You’ll also learn the pitfalls of using the Reward System on your child – and how to unlock your child’s natural intelligence by using the Motivation Principle instead.

Content – 16 Sections Covering:

  • How to recognize the Motivation Mismatch – and fix it
  • The side effects of the Reward System and why we use the Motivation Principle instead
  • Uncovering your child’s Motivation, plus worksheet
  • Using your child’s Motivations: The Important Bias
  • “Make it Happen” Guide (Concepts to Remember, Things to Do and Techniques to Practice)

1.5 Attitude: The Critical Element

In this segment you will learn how your emotions and attitudes profoundly affect your interactions with your child. You will see how the “Stimulus –> Belief –> Response” Model will help you deal with stress and discomforts. This model will help you to maintain a greater sense of optimism and well-being which will profoundly enhance your motivation level and your child’s responsiveness.

Content – 12 Sections Covering:

  • The components of The Son-Rise Program® Attitude and using the “Stimulus –> Belief –> Response” Model
  • Happiness-generating and unhappiness-generating beliefs
  • “Make it Happen” Guide (Concepts to Remember, Things to Do and Techniques to Practice)

8-Week After Course Part 1:

  • Daily Activities
  • Sensory Spotlights
  • Attitudinal Support

Part 2:

2.1 Review

2.2 Eye Contact and Non-Verbal Communication

In this section you will be given a much deeper understanding of eye-contact and non-verbal communication, with a bias towards spontaneous, child-initiated skills. You will have tools to build your child’s overall non-verbal communication, a crucial yet often-overlooked component of interpersonal communication and social relationships.

Content – 11 Sections Covering:

  • An overview of The Son-Rise Program® Developmental Model
  • The importance of children looking because they want to, rather than because they are forced to
  • Encouraging spontaneous eye contact
  • Encouraging non-verbal communication (other than eye contact)
  • “Make it Happen” Guide (Concepts to Remember, Things to Do and Techniques to Practice)

2.3 Flexibility 101

Here you will get a thorough education in the all-important topic of Flexibility. Helping your child in this area will have a profound impact on their lives, and yours. You will learn how to help your child become less attached to routines and particular stimuli/circumstances, and more willing to be at ease and flexible with changing circumstances.

Content – 12 Sections Covering:

  • What to do when you child is having difficulty being flexible
  • Creating a learning environment what will help your child become more flexible
  • The surprising way to encourage flexibility
  • Turn “No” into “Yes”
  • “Make it Happen” Guide (Concepts to Remember, Things to Do and Techniques to Practice)

2.4 Setting Goals

In this section, you will learn how to use the groundbreaking Son-Rise Program® Developmental Model to plot and really understand where your child is socially. Then we will show you how to set optimum goals for your child in each of the Fundamentals of Socialization…and track your child’s progress!

Content – 5 Sections Covering:

  • Camera: See and understand where your child is now
  • Blueprint: Know which goals to focus on
  • Create: Your child’s Social Curriculum
  • Use: The Son-Rise Program Developmental Model

2.5 Getting Goals

This section is all about getting goals. Build on your understanding of Green Lights and use them to challenge your child to grow in all of The Son-Rise Program Four Fundamentals. We’ll show you exactly how to use the techniques of Indirect Challenging, Direct Challenging: Phase 1, and Direct Challenging: Phase 2, to enable your child to leap forward on The Son-Rise Program® Developmental Model.

Content – 15 Sections Covering:

  • The crucial prerequisites for getting any goal
  • Indirect challenging (to increase “Green Lights”)
  • Direct Challenging Phase 1 (to strengthen Interactive Attention Span)
  • Direct Challenging Phase 2 (to achieve specific developmental goals)
  • “Make it Happen” Guide (Concepts to Remember, Things to Do and Techniques to Practice)

2.6 How to Change a Belief: Attitudinal Support

Using the “Stimulus–>Belief–>Response” Model you will see how to change the way you feel and behave (especially with respect to your child), in order to be the most powerful force of change in your child’s life. Seeing the impact of self-acceptance, the role of evidence, the process of discarding one belief and adopting another, will help you break through your personal roadblocks and support you in your journey with your child.

Content – 14 Sections Covering:

  • Stimulus–>Belief–>Response
  • Believing in, and orienting, for change
  • Practice and Belief Change Activity
  • Keeping what you’ve learned alive

8-Week After Course Part 2:

  • Daily Activities
  • School Spotlights
  • Attitudinal Support

Register today and pay $875
for 9 months of access.

Apply for Financial Aid
for up to 50% OFF!

SIGN UP TODAY

If you have any questions or need help deciding,  to speak with a Son-Rise Program Advisor.

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.

Please note, this is a per-person registration

CONTINUE

 

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.

Please note, this is a per-person registration

Pre-Requisites for this course are:

  • You have completed one of the following: The Son-Rise Program Start-Up, The Son-Rise Program Online Course, or you have done Son-Rise Program Consultations.

CONTINUE

 

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.

Please note, this is a per-person registration

Pre-Requisites for this course are:

  • You have completed one of the following: The Son-Rise Program Start-Up, The Son-Rise Program Online Course, or you have done Son-Rise Program Consultations.

CONTINUE

 

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.

Please note, this is a per-person registration

Pre-Requisites for this course are:

  • Your child is 7 years or older.
  • Your child uses sentences, asks and answers questions and might even be able to have back and forth conversations with other people.
  • You have completed one of the following: The Son-Rise Program Start-Up, The Son-Rise Program Online Course, or you have done Son-Rise Program Consultations.

CONTINUE

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.

Please note, this is a per-person registration

CONTINUE

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.

Please note, this is a per-person registration

CONTINUE

 

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.

Please note, this is a per-person registration

CONTINUE

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.

Please note, this is a per-person registration

CONTINUE

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.

Please note, this is a per-person registration

CONTINUE

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course. Please note, this is a per-person registration

Please make sure you understand the following pre-requisites for this course before registering.

Pre-requisites for this course are:

  • Your child is currently using babbling sounds or unclear words, or
  • Your child has a vocabulary of less than 20 words and is not yet speaking in phrases.
  • You have completed one of the following: The Son-Rise Program Start-Up, The Son-Rise Program Online Course, or you have done Son-Rise Program Consultations.

CONTINUE

NOTE: Attendance of live sessions via Zoom are required to complete this course.
Please note, this is a per-person registration

Please make sure you understand the following pre-requisites for this course before registering.

Pre-requisites for this course are:

  • For parents or care-givers who have attended The Start-Up course or who have done The Son-Rise Program Online course.
  • For families who have already started running a Son-Rise Program for their children.

CONTINUE

Amanda Louison


  • CEO
  • Director of Operations
  • Senior Son-Rise Program Advisor
  • Former Son-Rise Program Child Facilitator

Personal Statement

"I came to the Autism Treatment Center of America in October of 2008 where I took the position as the Intensive Coordinator. Before coming to the Autism Treatment Center of America, I worked with special children for 13 years, and upon my arrival fell in-love with the Son-Rise Program®. The modality of “Bonding through acceptance” opened my eyes to a world of love and acceptance for my own son, who has ADHD, and inspired me to want to live a happier, more loving life. I soon set the intention of doing the Son-Rise Program® Child Facilitator Training so I could share my love with children on a much deeper level. I spent six months observing and learning the Son-Rise Program, and in April of 2009 was accepted into the Son-Rise Program® Child Facilitator Training Program and in July of 2010, I became a Son-Rise Program® Child Facilitator staff member and cherished my time in the playroom as a facilitator.

I continued my training at The Autism Treatment Center of America to become a Senior Son-Rise Program® Advisor. My love of Son-Rise Program® inspired me to talk with parents who are just beginning their journey and who are continuing journey with their children using the Son-Rise Program® principals and techniques.

Through the years, I found myself wanting to help our staff grow and the organization flourish, so I have now moved into a managerial role while still working as a Senior Program Advisor. I am currently the Director of Operations and Deputy CEO of the Autism Treatment Center of America and the Option Institute and look forward to working with our staff and with parents of children on the Autism Spectrum for many years to come."

Fun Facts:

Amanda has been married for 24 years and has two amazing children, a son age 22 and daughter who is 18. Some of her favorite hobbies are hiking, reading, finding tag sales, traveling and spending time with her family.

Dear Donor,

Jeannie Reid was searching for answers to the challenges she and her family were facing. Jeannie and her husband Stuart’s son, Carson, had been diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, a condition on the Autism spectrum. For Carson that meant being completely involved in obsessive behaviors and only using minimal words to identify objects, as well as frequently and completely melting down.

Soon after, Jeannie found the book, “Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues” and when she read it, she KNEW she had found what she was looking for. She began using some of the Son-Rise techniques described in the book on her own until she was able to come to The Autism Treatment Center of America for the Son-Rise Program Start-Up. As she put into practice what she learned there, Carson’s world was opening up. Today Carson is attending a Montessori school as a 'typical' student and functioning at or above typical grade level, being fully verbal and conversational, and very interested in learning about the world and interacting as much as possible with other people. He is even taking swim lessons at the local YMCA and doing great!

“It has been wonderful to get, and stay connected with other people and Son-Rise parents from all over the world. My son’s progress had already come very far, but now I truly believe we can go all the way!”

Jeannie wrote.

Stuart Reid then attended the Empower Yourself course and brought home a new sense of clarity, balance and personal power. He shared his new empowerment with Jeannie and she in turn gained in confidence, strength and enthusiasm. Their own relationship began to flourish anew, as well. Life-altering changes were happening for Jeannie and her family.

Jeannie journeyed again to Sheffield, this time for the Fearless course at The Option Institute to help her recognize and overcome her personal obstacles. Jeannie wanted to continue her amazing journey as she had found using the techniques she learned in The Son-Rise Program and in Fearless had absolutely changed the lives of everyone in her family.

But, because the Reids’ finances had been seriously stretched by then, their next steps were put on hold. Then an amazing event changed everything. Jeannie’s college roommate and lifelong friend decided to start a Son-Rise Program scholarship fund for people from the Cleveland area. Since then Jeannie has been able to move ahead with her courses, taking Radical Authenticity, Son-Rise Maximum Impact and Son-Rise Wide Awake ... and eventually she became a Certified Group Facilitator.

Jeannie Reid’s story is about wanting BIG and making it happen. She is about to embark on her renewed private practice as an art therapist, and plans to be a super advocate for The Son-Rise Program in her area. Her wonderful new life is a product of her persistence and belief, and of the wheels she helped set in motion for others when her friends learned of how she and her family had been impacted by The Son-Rise Program.

“I know I will be able to give back by helping others, and that will be the top of my personal mountain! Thank you to everyone who donates! You are making a big difference in the world!

Jeannie Reid

 

Dear Donor

Two years ago, Antonio's kindergarten teacher told us something was not quite right with our little boy. He was not socializing, he somersaulted all the time and hardly spoke at all. At the time I was working for a municipality close to Florence, Italy and basically I had nothing left after seeing to basic necessities.

In the meantime, I looked up Autism with Google and as I was also looking for happiness and personal growth, I was guided to The Option Institute, thence the Autism Treatment Center of America. I read up as much as I could and started trying to apply the “Happiness is a Choice” suggestions. I'm not quite good at it but it has helped me with attitude, and everything else that seemed trying is really different after all this.

When I decided to come for The Son-Rise Program Start-Up, I really had little or no money to pay for it. I spoke to my friends, old and new. My mother helped me, friends I thought couldn't [help] tried their very best and the scholarship did the rest.

What the scholarship did was give a HUGE boost to my fundraising. About six friends contributed the rest, at the travel agency a very kind lady who I may now call a friend helped me some more. I am overwhelmed with gratefulness. Here I am, happy to have attended the Start-Up program and looking forward to learning more and praying to God for guidance.

So the gist of the matter is, I am a happy mum who hopes to implement a wonderful relationship with her child and is riding a not so easy moment with lots of hope in her heart and THANK YOU is not enough for what I feel. I still remember William's words, “If you do what you've always done, you will get what you've always got.” Now I'm trying to do different, bit by bit, day by day. I feel the difference already.

About Antonio ... we are going on with the Italian program and I play with Antonio after school in a quiet room in the house. Knowing what the little guy is exposed to (he's always putting his fingers in his ears and he seems to have problems with too much light in his eyes), I find him very brave as he bears it tolerably. Drums a lot to digest it all.

When we went to the doctor, just weeks after starting the program at home, she told me that she found him more attentive. His attention span has increased. He is also tagging or pulling at one's arm when looking for attention. The child psychologist last Saturday reported the same thing and what's more, my son has always required that I enter the room, hence assisting in every session. Well, this time he went in along with the doctor and told me, “See you later.”

At school, his teacher who speaks English as well, read up and watched my DVD (Kyle’s Journey, Jade and “I want my little boy back”). Now she's changing, bit by bit and I do appreciate that very much. He seems to be OK with her and actually sent me away from class this morning, again telling me, “See you later.”

He is now ONE HUGE GREENLIGHT and I'm hoping to be able to really have volunteers (still looking), raise funds and settle down to business.

God bless,

Jackline

 

Dear Donor,

I am the mother of three children, all on the Autism Spectrum. Before I heard of the Son-Rise Program and the Option Institute, I was a desperate, angry and depressed person…. I was on Anti-depressants, sleeping multiple hours of the day, and for a period of time, using alcohol to run away from my pain.

Then I heard of the Son-Rise Program. I called to find out more about it and thought “this if for me!” But I could not afford it. You see raising one child with Autism is very expensive but raising three is just outrageously expensive with all the therapies and dietary interventions that we were doing.

But I was offered a full scholarship to the SRSU program. I have since attended all of the Son-Rise Programs and many of the Personal Growth programs offered by the Option Institute.  Each time I have been given a scholarship and each time I go I learn more about who I am and I change for the better each and every time.  Because of your most generous support, my children are recovering from Autism, I have found happiness in my life!  I am no longer on anti-depressants and I have so much more energy.

YOU are the reason that my family is in recovery. It is because of YOU that my oldest son now is enjoying school.  YOU are the reason my second son is speaking. YOU are the reason my daughter is no longer as rigid and controlling as she once was.  Thank you does not even begin to cover how much gratitude I have for you.  I thank God every day for you and I do not even know you.

Please know that you are changing lives with your donation to ATCA and the OI.  It is because of you that every day people are getting the help that they need. Thank you, thank you and thank you!

With so much love,

Kerry Rihtar

 

Our Commitment to Privacy

The Autism Treatment Center of America® (a division of The Option Institute & Fellowship®) are committed to your privacy. This notice serves to help you better understand what information we collect, how we use that information, and with whom we may share a limited portion of that information. If you have questions or concerns regarding this policy, you should contact Customer Support by email psupport@option.org.

We know that you value your personal information, and we strive to protect your privacy as if it were our own. The Autism Treatment Center of America (a division of The Option Institute & Fellowship) uses of your information is limited to the ways outlined in this notice, except as required by law and/or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on us.

Information We Collect From You

  1. Online Contact and Info Requests: If you submit an online request for Option Institute products such as free brochures, or submit a question through a “Contact Us” or “Call-Me” form, we may have to gather additional information from you to respond to your request. Such information will include name, shipping address, telephone number, and email address.
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  1. Information Requests and Customer Service: After submitting information to us via our online forms, your contact information including your email address will be used to respond to that request. After you submit online information requests to us, you may, from time to time, receive email or other communications from us or our service providers with information including information about our upcoming programs or products if you choose to agree to receive those communications. If you do not wish to receive these communications, you are able to opt out of at any time by following the unsubscribe link found in the email.
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We maintain a data retention policy to protect your data. Information collected on our website will be retained for as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected.

How We Secure Your Information

We are committed to protecting the security of your personal information and to honoring your choices for its intended use. To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we strive to maintain physical, electronic, and administrative safeguards. We use industry standard security protocol such as encryption and https security protocol to protect your information.
Any time we share your information with a third party consistent with this Privacy Policy, we utilize technological or contractual safeguards in an effort to keep your information safe.
While we are confident ordering online is safe and secure, if for any reason you cannot access the secure server or feel uncomfortable ordering online, please feel free to place your order with us by phone at 877-766-7473 or +001-413-229-2100.
At any time you wish to opt out of receiving promotional mailings, you may call or email Customer Service (psupport@option.org).

Your Rights

At any time, you can use the following request form https://gdpr.autismtreatmentcenter.org/ to request any of the following:

  1. Confirm whether or not personal data about you is being processed.
  2. Provide you with further details about how we process your personal data.
  3. Provide you with a copy of any data which we hold about you.
  4. Withdraw your consent to using your personal information, where we rely on your consent as a legal basis to justify using your personal data.
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We will consider all requests. However, certain personal information may be exempt from those requests in certain circumstances, which include a need to keep processing information for our legitimate interests or to comply with a legal obligation. If such an exception applies, we will notify you when responding to your request. Please note that we may ask you to provide us with information necessary to confirm your identity before responding.

Policy Updates

We reserve the right to update the above policy at any time. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post the updates to this Privacy Policy here and on any other place we deem appropriate, so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

 

Samahria Lyte Kaufman


  • Co-Founder/Co-Creator of The Son-Rise Program (1974)
  • Has taught The Son-Rise Program to parents and professionals for over 40 years
  • Has presented The Son-Rise Program in Europe, North and South America
  • Co-Authored the screen play for Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love based on the best-selling book, Son-Rise, The Miracle Continues, written by her husband, “Bears”, Barry Neil Kaufman, about the inspiring and transformative journey she, along with Bears, created and shared with their once-autistic son, Raun.
  • Co-Founded The Option Institute International Learning and Training Center and the Autism Treatment Center of America in 1983

Personal Statement

"In 1974, as a young mother, I sat on the floor in a small bathroom with my son, Raun, who had been diagnosed with Autism. In a decision born out of love and the passion to know my son, I had decided to join my son’s bizarre world of flapping and rocking to connect with him, instead of forcing him to conform to my world or putting him in an institution as we had been advised to do. That leap of faith combined with self-trust and respect for this child in my midst, we began an adventure, together with a team of volunteers we had trained, and worked tirelessly with Raun twelve hours per day, seven days per week, spanning three-and-a-half years. Raun emerged from a severe state of Autism with a tested score of under 30 I.Q., into a highly verbal, socially interactive youngster with a near-genius IQ who no longer exhibited any signs of Autism.

My desire to help others paved a road to the creation of the Autism Treatment Center of America, the home of The Son-Rise Program... and my husband, Bears, and I have devoted our lives to helping others know and manifest the infinite possibilities they possess. From beginning to end, this has been a journey of love, no matter how grand the challenges have been, how many people have tried to stop us, or how emphatically others have expressed their beliefs of the impossibility of the power to change we each possess. This is a continuous adventure we take within ourselves and, as long as my heart is beating, Bears and I will never stop helping others to achieve their dreams."

Barry ("Bears") Neil Kaufman


  • Co-Founder of the Son-Rise Program and Autism Treatment Center of America (1983)
  • Has taught The Son-Rise Program to parents and professionals for over 40 years
  • Best-selling author of 12 books including Happiness Is A Choice, Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues, and A Miracle to Believe In.
  • Noted international speaker, Group Facilitator and teacher

Personal Statement

"Raun, our third child, developed autism during a time when autism was diagnosed as part of infantile childhood schizophrenia….and behavioral techniques, including reward/punishment and electric shocks were the commonplace treatments. Irreversible and incurable were terms used to describe his condition. Samahria and I decided that we would not want our son, or any child for that matter, to be exposed to such methods and, thus decided, to find a way ourselves to reach Raun. Never did we see his situation as a behavior problem but a difficulty in relating to and participating in the world of people.

We adopted some major perspectives; attitude was beyond important – to love him with judging his unusual behavior if he couldn’t join us in our world, we would join him in his and establishing a bonded relationship and helping him to be motivated would be the best pathway to help him one day join our world. Raun went from a severely autistic, mute, self-stimulating, under 30 I.Q. child to becoming a precious, highly verbal, extroverted youngster, ultimately graduating high school with honors and then gaining a degree in biomedical ethics from an Ivy League university. Today, he is Director of Global Education at the Autism Treatment Center of America (a division of The Option Institute), which Samahria and I founded almost 30 years ago.

Samahria and I, with a highly trained and professional staff, have had the blessing to have not only worked with individuals and parents and children from all over the world (124 different countries), but to share The Son-Rise Program (for children with autism and other developmental challenges) with tens of thousands of people through our many courses, seminars, family intensives, videos, books, CDs and DVDs and now through the Son-Rise Program Online. My first book, Son-Rise (now Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues), became a best-seller and an award-winning NBC-TV Network movie. Since then, I have written eleven other books (many translated into over 20 languages), including Happiness Is A Choice.

I don’t just get up every morning, I jump up. I feel extraordinarily grateful to spend each day either teaching in our programs, training our staff or professionals, working one-on-one with individuals and families, and dreaming up more effective ways to make our methods easier to learn and implement. When I look into the eyes of a mute child who learned to talk or even just allowed himself to be hugged, when I hear a mom report that her depression or despair is gone and now feels hopeful, when I see a dad open his heart to his family and address his concerns and fears and when I witness the transformative impact our Son-Rise Program teachers and child-facilitators have families every week and every month, I know that we (all of us working here at the Autism Treatment Center of America) are among those who most richly blessed. What an honor for all of us to do this work and embrace all those who reach out to us."

Raun K. Kaufman


  • Global Education Special Projects for the Autism Treatment Center of America®
  • Author of Autism Breakthrough
  • Degree in Biomedical Ethics, Brown University
  • Advisory Board Member, United States Autism & Asperger Association (USAAA)
  • Certified Son-Rise Program® Teacher and Teacher Trainer

Personal Statement

"I have had the privilege of connecting with so many parents during my lectures internationally and throughout the U.S., all of whom deeply love and want to help their children. In this work with families and professionals, I also bring my own very personal experience.

As a young boy, I was diagnosed as severely autistic, with no language and a tested I.Q. under 30. Although advised to institutionalize me, my parents, Barry Neil Kaufman and Samahria Lyte Kaufman, instead developed The Son-Rise Program and worked with me for over three years, enabling me to recover completely with no trace of my former condition. Our story was recounted by my father in the best-selling book Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues, and was later the subject of an award-winning NBC television movie Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love. I went on to graduate from the Ivy League’s Brown University with a degree in Biomedical Ethics, something that was never supposed to be in the cards for me. In fact, it still astounds me that everything has come full circle - that I can now help other children to step across the bridge I once crossed myself.

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to reach out to people who are not yet aware of the principles of The Son-Rise Program through the articles I have written, as well as through my discussions of autism in radio, television, internet, print interviews and now in the online course.

As the future unfolds, I will continue to lecture and teach at universities, conferences, and, of course, in many of the Autism Treatment Center of America’s on-site programs. My cheers go out to all of the families working with such love and diligence to help their special children."

Kate C. Wilde


  • Director of Global Outreach
  • Certified Son-Rise Program Teacher and Teacher Trainer
  • Author of Autistic Logistics
  • Author of The Autism Language Launcher

Personal Statement

"I have spent my whole working life playing with children and helping families using The Son-Rise Program. My journey to the Autism Treatment Center of America began when I just 13 years old. When I watched the TV movie, Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love. This movie is the real-life story of The Founders of The Autism Treatment Center of America and how they recovered their severely autistic son from Autism. It was that movie that inspired me to want to work with children on the autism spectrum.

It is now more than 35 years later, and my passion for our children and the Son-Rise Program continues to grow. I have had the amazing honor to have worked with well over 1,500 children of different ages and diagnosis. I have had the privilege of helping families from all over the world, who continue to amaze me with their love and dedication for their beautiful children. I look forward to meeting you and helping you and your family thrive."

Fun Facts

Kate has an identical twin sister. She is British and loves to dance Argentine tango.