by Kimberly Horg-Webb

MBRACINCUTISM

Two years ago Sacramento parents Kevin and Lorna

Miller heard the most devastating news of their lives.

Their only child, Ross, then 3'/, years old, was diag-

nosed with autism (POD-NOS to be exact). Hope

returned the day a friend mentioned the Son-Rise

Program. That chat would change their lives forever.

In February of 2009 the Millers boarded a plane to Massachusetts, where The Autism Treatment

Center of America is located. The center is home to the Son-Rise Program, a treatment and education

model that helps children on the autism spectrum by teaching parents new ways of relatingto their kids.

"We are already seeing miracles happen," says Lorna. Since starting the program, she and her hus-

band have seen dramatic improvements in their son's behavior and abilities, but even more importantly,

they have seen Ross-who used to be such a miserable little guy-become one very happy boy.

Ross can now handle the transitions of goingto different places whereas before it was difficult to go

anywhere with him. He used to refuse to let his parents play with him, but now he wants to play, not only

with his parents, but with other children, too. Ross also never used to ask questions, or answer them. Now

he asks who, what, where and those infamous why questions (all the time).

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Mom says Ross used to have about90 percent echolalia (automaticallyrepeating words he heard from people orhis books and videos). That has gonedown to just 10 percent, and he is startingto have conversations with his parents ona regular basis.

Since that first visit forthe Son-RiseStart-Up Training, the Millers have traveledback to Massach usetts fou r ti rnes, for oneweek of training each time. Lof~a says, "Itis a program developed by parents for par-ents, and it is amazing!"

REACHING"UNREACHABLE" KIDSThe Son-Rise Program was created in1974 by Barry Neil Kaufman and his wife,Samahria Lyte Kaufman, to recover theirseverely autistic son. The programempowers parents to act as the key teach-ers, therapists and directors of their ownprograms and utilizes the home as themost nurturing environment in whichfamilies can help their children.

"One of the main educational tech-niques of the Son-Rise Program that dif-ferentiates it from other autism treatmentmodalities is 'joining,''' says William Hogan,Senior Son-Rise Program Teacher andTrainer. He explains that joiningmeans"enjoying and imitating a child (or adult)

when they are involved in their exclusive and repetitious behaviors." So, insteadof stopping a child who is rocking, hand flapping or repeating certain sounds,Son-Rise parents learn to join their children in those odd, self-stimulating behav-iors. Hogan says joining continues until the child gives a cue to the facilitator thatthey are now ready to interact.

While Lorna and Kevin were in their own classes at the center, Ross spentnine hours a day playing games with Hogan and other certified facilitators andsenior teachers. The family saw his average interactive attention span double inthat first week. The Center also tracked Ross and gave them a comprehensiveassessment of where he was on the Son-Rise Developmental Model, which con-tinually helps them make decisions about Ross's program goals. Each evening, his

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parents would then go in the playroom with him and practicewhat they had learned throughout the day.

The couple also learned how to create a solid learningenvironment for Ross at home. "We have a designated, dis-traction-free playroom in our home where Ross and his teamof volunteer facilitators play with him;' says Lorna. "It is therewhere we join him in his exclusive or repetitive behavior."

The Millers now use Ross's own motivations to challengehim each day and help him grow. For instance, his favoriteshows include Willy Wonka and the Chocolate FactoryandSesame Street, so his parents bring a variety of related games,inciuding"Help Elmo Find His Blankets;' into his room to helpfacilitate socialization skills, communication, flexibility, andinteractive attention span. Ross also loves reading, writing anddrawing, so the family does a lot of that in the playroom.

Even though Ross has made some huge improvements,the Millers decided to home-school him. They'll do a full-timeSon-Rise Program (50 hours a week). "He already reads at afirst-grade level and is academically ahead of kindergartenlevel," says Lorna. But before she puts him in a school environ-ment,she wants to be sure Ross is "socially ready for it!'

Lorna says that by deepening her

understanding of what Ross was doing and

why, she has learned how to relate to her

son in a whole new way. It allowed herto

love and accept Ross for exactly who he is.

That whole-hearted acceptance is reflect-

ed in the name of her blog: "Lorna Loving

Autism." You can check out her posts at

MiracleForRoss.com/lornalovingautism.

Lorna urges other parents to visit the

Autism Treatment Center's website

(AutismTreatmentCenter.org) and check

out the resources posted there. "I'd like

other parents to knowthatthere is an alter-

native out there;' she says. (Parents can

also call 877-766-7473 to talkto a family

counselor or learn about the different

week-long programs.)

"It truly has helped me come to peace

with Ross's diagnosis;' says Lorna, "and to

be incredibly hopeful about his future." "