Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi there, I am new to this forum and have literally just registered. My son (aged 5) has recently been diagnosed as high functioning autism (used to be known as aspergers, but we are no longer allowed to use this term, apparently?!).
Having done lots of reading online, we came across the son rise program founded by the Knaufman family by which Raun Knaufman who was diagnosed as autistic aged 2, outgrew his autism as a result of his parents 'joining' in his behaviour as a child.
Me and hubby have read his book, which is extremely interesting and convincing, and makes a lot of sense. A lot of critics claim there is no scientific evidence for this, and a lot of paediatricians would also claim this, as it is commonly known that autism is a lifelong spectrum disorder that a child cannot outgrow and can only be managed, however Rauns behaviour defied the odds.
Those critics who claim there is no scientific evidence for this, I am pretty sure this is actually their opinion, as opposed to something they have actually tried and tested themselves.
What I would like to know, is if there is anyone out there who has completed the program themselves, as it is held in London annually and is rather expensive. If so, what was the outcome please? I am not interested in opinions of those who haven't completed the program, only those that have, as me and hubby are very interested in doing the program, however would like an unbiased opinion, aside from the websites associated with Raun Knaufman.
Opinions on this program, the outcome and if it is worth doing would be very much appreciated, as we want to do everything we can to help our son. Thank you.
Hi, just wondering if you tried the son-rise programme in the end and your unbiased thoughts on the programme?
Hi there,
I have recently heard about this program and watched many recovery videos on youtube that are very convincing. I'm parent of an autistic child myself.
Were you able to find any UK links on this?
Did you join this program?
Any other useful information?
Thank you.
Thank you for the book recommendation, sounds very interesting and definitely worth reading. I will see if I can get hold of it.
Thanks again!!
Thank you so much for your response and the links, they are very useful. It has certainly given me some food for thought! Interesting about ABA as well, as I have heard of this before too, but didn't realise about the stressful side of the intervention. I too have often wondered what the CQC would say about this as well.
Thanks again, finding this forum very useful already!!
Longman was confused as to why I raised the question of ABA. As I understand it ABA and Son-Rise are related in trying to train and educate a child out of their behavioural issues. A lot of the articles that compare the two brands of therapy are from the Son Rise crew who seek to distinguish themselves from ABA. It seems to me that a child who then behaves normally may appear "cured" to a lay person.
An interesting article is from a behavioural consultancy on the other side of the fence www.navigationbehavioralconsulting.com/.../aba-vs-son-rise
CBT (and DBT) for adults is related to these in trying to modify behaviours through a more cognitive approach that will probably not get anywhere with a child.
I don't have an axe to grind here. I can see that these consultancies will sell their wares as persuasively as they can and some of their efforts will modify behaviours to the good. I would be concerned in that a lot of this is unregulated and wide open to people with little or no understanding of autistic children and who are very persuasive. Do these consultancies submit themselves to the rigours of the CQC? I would be interested to hear if they do.
They may believe, and say, that autism can be cured. To be clear, nobody who has any proper scientific background believes that autism can be cured. People can be educated, trained and encouraged to behave differently but that does not amount to a cure.
The key thing in a young child is that the parents learn how to make the most of their child. This cannot be outsourced to anyone else. However, parents may find it beneficial to learn all they can, from whatever sources they can, but they must maintain a healthy scepticism about anyone who tries to sell them snake oil.
You could also get Tony Attwoods book - The Complete Guide To Asperger's Syndrome - which will give you pretty much all you will need to know, do and get as a parent; in that it deals with each stage and aspect of Aspergian and typical childrens developmental needs through school and on towards adulthood.
Everything mentioned in it is based on or from scientifically validated and evidenced data, and its reference material for further data is rather good too. It could help you very much with your current inquiry.
I would draw your attention to this page...
researchautism.net/.../applied-behaviour-analysis-and-autism
which says
if any type of ABA is undertaken, it is important to consider any benefits against the possible impact on the child (in terms of the intensity and possible stress of the intervention) and on the families (in terms of time, finances, organisation, and effects on siblings).
Research Autism is a sister organisation to NAS and they have a useful resource about interventions for autism at researchautism.net/.../our-evaluations-interventions
Autism is a lifelong condition but some people can learn, or be trained, to deal with it to a greater or lesser extent. Autism can also be misdiagnosed and some of the "cures" may be actually the result of misdiagnosis.
I haven't been through ABA myself but, a couple of years ago on this forum, I read posts from someone who had been through this as a child and was vehemently opposed to it. He felt that it was brutal and inappropriate and ineffective in his case. If you follow this link you will see previous discussions on the subject community.autism.org.uk/.../aba