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Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them.
It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways. Some people with autism are able to live relatively independent lives but others may have accompanying learning disabilities which are so severe that they need a lifetime of specialist support. People with autism often experience hyper sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours which makes the world a very frightening and confusing place.
Alfie’s autism effects the whole family, simple things others take for granted, like popping to the shops is almost out of the question; it would take Alfie an hour to prepare for the ordeal mentally then walking there would take just as long ! He finds everything overwhelming and some shop lights actually cause him pain . Alfie finds it hard to play with his own sister and because he has limited speech he get very frustrated and will pinch or bite himself or others.
Alfie is now in a Special Educational Needs nursery but this hasn't been without a fight. We have struggled this far and had to fight hard to get the state assessments and support for his education. What seems to be on offer in the UK is very limited and tends to focus mostly on learning to live with the condition rather than to improve the real quality of Alfie’s life.
The Son-Rise program developed in the USA is a revolutionary child-centred, one-on-one programme for children with autistic spectrum disorders and the methods are then run by parents across the world in their own homes.
It is a therapy based on respect, love and acceptance where parents learn how to help their children dramatically improve in all areas of learning and development. Families are taught how to create the best learning environment for their child and are given guidance and training on how to run and develop their individual programmes by specially trained Son-Rise teachers. The stimulating therapy was created by an American couple, Barry and Samahria Kaufman when their son, Raun, was diagnosed as severely and incurably autistic. Instead of following medical advice to institutionalise their son, the Kaufmans designed a programme to reach their son which was a complete departure from existing methods of treatment. As a result he was transformed from a mute, withdrawn child into a socially interactive youngster with a near-genius IQ.Raun, who shows no signs of his former condition, later graduated from university and is now CEO of the Autism Treatment Centre of America, which was set up in 1983 to help families and individuals from across the world how to help their autistic children.
In the UK and Eire, where hundreds of families have been helped by Son-Rise, the first step normally is to attend one of the Start-up courses which are held every year. We desperately want to be part of this programme so we can help Alfie to overcome his condition and live a full life.
We have lots of support from close friends and family but if we are to make a difference we need to join the programme soon and that is where we are asking for your help. Every pound raised will help us to achieve our goal. All the money we raise will pay for the induction course in America which is £1200. This will teach us everything we need to know to help and support Alfie to live as normal life as possible. To help the fundraising along I will be making and selling jewellery and cup cakes locally and at boot sales - perhaps there is an event or activity which you can arrange that would raise some money for Alfie. Living with autism was not part of our life plan and could not have been further from our minds the day Alfie was born. The reality of parenting a non typical child brings so many huge responsibilities and strains us all. Your support could really make a big difference however little you feel able to donate and we all thank you so much!
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