Our Son-Rise Journey

These Videos Speak For Themselves!

15/04/23 at 6.05pm   /   by sdcarlson   /   0 Comment

I’m not going to say much in this post other than the following videos say more than I could ever write about what this program is doing for our son and our family.  Lucas showed very little affection when we started this program.  I can’t believe how far he has come in this regard.  All these videos are so worth watching (About 7 minutes long).  In the last video he actually kisses our volunteer on the forehead twice!!  I hope you enjoy these special moments as much as I have!

 

 

You give your time, the most thoughtful gift of all!

15/04/17 at 11.50pm   /   by sdcarlson   /   0 Comment

This is really a post thanking my volunteers for giving not only their time, but their acceptance, their non-judgement, their persistence, their creativity and in essence themselves.  Being in this room week after week with Lucas is more than just “playtime”, it’s really about truly looking at ourselves and being vulnerable to what we find.  It’s about allowing ourselves room to grow and understand the why’s of how we approach not only situations in the playroom but everything in our lives outside of the playroom. It’s learning to love and accept ourselves, something that seems so easy, but really takes work and dedication. In doing so, we evolve, we grow and we learn alongside Lucas.  We become more accepting and loving people in general.

All of my volunteers willingly and continually go through this process. Their vulnerability in this process is stunning and more importantly, it allows the progress that continually takes place in and out of that playroom to happen.   They all believe in themselves and in this program, and that is why our sweet boy is growing socially leaps and bounds.  I love the following quote from Raun Kaufman regarding the importance in beliefs.

“WE BELIEVE IN US
Our children are given all kinds of damning prognoses. People make their pronouncements about our kids’ futures as if they have a crystal ball.
They don’t.
A diagnosis…that’s reality (for now). A prognosis…that’s just a guess.
Many of us wait to be shown evidence about what our children can do.  We plead and wait and hope for others to believe in our kids.
But we don’t need it.
Because WE believe in them. And WE believe in US. Our ability to reach our kids, connect with our kids, and enable our kids to rise to heretofore unseen heights.
That’s all we need. And we have it.”  -Raun Kaufman

Lucas gave one of our volunteers a special treat Easter week.  She volunteered to spend every day of her Easter break with our sweet boy, and in return he gave her the best reward ever, he thanked her!  This is so beautiful because it is the FIRST time Lucas has ever thanked anybody and it is so fitting that it happened as a result of his Son-Rise Family!

 

Did You Know…

15/04/10 at 7.38pm   /   by sdcarlson   /   0 Comment

In Celebration of Autism Awareness Month, I am including a collection of quotes from Son-Rise teachers and authors that accurately describe our children on the spectrum.

This program and the foundation of many of these statements have changed the course of our child’s life and his communication and connection with those around him!!!

Did you Know…..

  • that, sometimes, our children engage in challenging behaviors merely because of our big reactions?  Many times, when we switch these reactions to relaxed responses, our children lose interest in those behaviors.
  • that the best way to teach your child with autism is to let your child be the teacher?
  • that your child or adult’s brain is plastic at any age?  So, it’s never too late for your child!
  • that the biggest mistake we make is attempting to teach or challenge our children when they are not in a state where they can take in new information?
  • that 4 major reasons our children hit us are:
    1 They are trying to communicate something.
    2 They want to see our reaction.
    3 They trying to regulate sensory overload,
    4 They are trying to do what they see as protecting themselves?
  • that helping our children to overcome their challenges yields far more long-term results than helping them to compensate for their challenges?
  • that, since autism is a social-relational disorder and not a math or reading disorder, focusing on interpersonal connection is the way to address the central aspect of autism?
  • that one of the largest errors we make with our pre-verbal or semi verbal kids is that we talk too much, which doesn’t leave them enough space to speak?
  • that, throughout the day, our children are either giving us green lights (when they can learn and interact) or red lights (when they need to be in their own world)?
    The key is to be able to tell the difference!
  • that autism is a social-relational disorder, NOT a behavioral disorder?  That means that overcoming autism is not about getting our children to change their behaviors.
  • that joining our children in their repetitive behaviors may help stimulate the very mirror neurons that some scientists say children with autism have difficulty firing?
  • that using your child’s motivation to increase their learning isn’t about giving rewards for a job well done?
    It’s about putting what they enjoy at the center of their activity!

AND LASTLY……

  • that autism does not have to be a life sentence?
    PEOPLE HAVE FULLY RECOVERED!

Celebrating Autism!

15/04/07 at 6.18pm   /   by sdcarlson   /   0 Comment

Celebrate

In celebration of autism, Autism Awareness month,  and the foundation of love and acceptance in this program, I wanted to share the following video.  The message above has become so resoundingly clear to Lucas since the inception of this program (September 2014), that moments like those portrayed below happen now almost daily in the playroom.  We started out just trying to get Lucas to allow physical touch in some way for at least 30 seconds.  It is unbelievable to me that not only is this happening, all the time,  he is the one initiating these moments with some lasting close to 5 minutes!  Without the constant love, non-judgement, and willingness of our team to be in Lucas’ world, this would not be possible.   There is no way to put a price tag on this type of progress!!  Enjoy!