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.
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.