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The Autism Society of America Foundation (ASAF) was founded with the primary mission to raise and allocate funds for research to address the many unanswered questions about autism. We are still far from fully understanding autism and knowing how to prevent it.
The ASAF has implemented action on several pressing autism research priorities as areas of initial focus: developing and publicizing up-to-date prevalence statistics; quantifying the societal and family economic consequences of autism; developing a national registry of individuals and families with autism who are willing to participate in research studies; and implementing a system to identify potential donors of autism brain tissue for research purposes and facilitating the donation process. In addition, the Foundation is contributing substantial funds for applied and biomedical research in the causes of and treatment approaches to autism.
References: Dr. Christopher Gillberg, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Conference.
Educating yourself and others about autism is a critical way to assist with the education and development of the individual with autism and to help society understand the nature of this common developmental disorder. Information packages on a variety of autism-related topics are available from the Autism Society of America. To request additional information or to find answers to other questions on autism, please call or write the ASA. We are here to help.
The insights, the inspiration and the work of Barry Neil Kaufman and Samahria Lyte Kaufman inspire the perspective all of us have here at The Option Institute. A special child is not a curse but a gift . . . a gift which challenges us to respond with enormous energy and dedication. Finding a way to help that child, or young person, and being there in the most loving, supportive and facilitating way possible is, in effect, learning to express the most powerful and humane part of ourselves. Such a process is a daily, moment-to-moment treasure for all of us . . . for the staff, for the volunteers and for the parents who cross our threshold.
The story of The Option Institute begins with the story of Bears (Barry) Neil Kaufman and Samahria Lyte Kaufman. The Kaufmans have spent over 25 years doing what everyone else said was impossible. In the early 1970's the Kaufmans rebirthed their son, Raun, from the supposedly incurable illness of autism. At eighteen months, Raun was mute, totally withdrawn from all human contact and self-stimulating. His I.Q. tested at below 30. The prognosis: irreversible--leading to eventual institutionalization. Defying the experts and developing a program radically different than existing techniques for the treatment of children with Autism, the Kaufmans designed and implemented unique child-centered, home-based program for their son.
Using a most loving and stimulating approach, they worked with their son twelve hours per day, seven days per week for over three years. When they finished, Raun was not only completely cured of autism, but had evolved into a highly verbal, extroverted, loving and brilliant young boy who demonstrated a near genius I.Q. and bore no traces of his original condition. Now a young adult, Raun graduated from high school with high honors (Cum Laude Society) and more recently graduated from a prestigious Ivy League university with a degree in biomedical ethics.
The story of their family's incredible journey was documented in the award-winning book and NBC-TV network movie, Son-Rise. Following their successful work with their own son, they helped other families learn and use The Son-Rise Program® with their special children. Concurrently, they extended their work to adults and began teaching the nonjudgmental and accepting attitude which was the foundation of their work.
Bears' recent book, Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues presents not only the expanded and updated journal of their successful efforts to reach their unreachable child by piercing the veil of Autism, but goes beyond to include a sensitive portrayal of how that singular event has become a worldwide phenomenon.
This book not only tells of Raun's development from birth through age twenty, but also shares deeply moving accounts of five other ordinary families who became extraordinary when they used The Son-Rise Program to reach their own \"unreachable\" children.
The Kaufmans' subsequent books have served as an inspiration for a world searching for more humane, loving and self-trusting answers to very personal problems and dilemmas. There are over two million copies of their books in print worldwide, in eighteen languages in over sixty countries.
While they worked to help others, they continued to open their own home to the orphaned and abandoned. In addition to their first three biological children, they adopted three Latin American children from backgrounds of extreme poverty, nutritional deprivation and abuse. All of these children have flourished with the love and caring they\'ve received in the Kaufman home.
Even as 280 universities put their books on required reading lists for courses in psychology, education religion, special education and the like, Bears and Samahria were training professionals and interested individuals to work as mentors with adults, adolescents and children. Responding to the demand for their services, they established The Option Institute and Fellowship in 1983 as a living and learning center dedicated to helping people improve the quality of their lives by becoming happier as well as offering assistance to those challenged by adversity.
Since its founding, The Option Institute has served as a beacon of hope and possibility for tens of thousands of people worldwide. With programs offered year 'round and a full-time staff of over sixty dedicated individuals, The Option Institute has become home to people from all backgrounds, ages and professions, who come to learn that happiness, healing and love are accessible, tangible goals, that can alter a person's life in the most wonderful and meaningful ways. One of the Institute's major focuses is to offer in-depth programs for families with special children, using the methods originated by the Kaufmans and taught under their supervision. The Son-Rise Program® has not only helped families in cities and towns all across the United Stated but has given hope and effective teaching tools to families in England, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Greece, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Poland, The Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, South Africa, Kenya, India, etc.
The Option Institute and the Kaufmans have been featured in over 2,000 articles and programs published or broadcast in major media, among them The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, People Magazine, Readers Digest, Good Morning America, and interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Phil Donohue, etc.
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