My recovery from autism and the myth of false hope -- Joining: entering your child's world -- Motivation: the engine of your child's growth -- Creativity: how to stay fresh and creative when coming up with games and activities for your child -- Socialization: the Son-Rise program developmental model -- Fundamental 1: eye contact and nonverbal communication -- Fundamental 2: verbal communication -- Fundamental 3: interactive attention span -- Fundamental 4: flexibility -- How giving control generates breakthroughs -- The good-tryer principle: turning your child into a learning powerhouse -- The big picture: the Son-Rise program ABCs -- Sensory overload: optimizing your child's environment -- Tantrums and other challenging behaviors: how changing your reactions changes everything -- Asperger's syndrome: applying the Son-Rise program principles -- The recovery mode: addressing the biology of autism--especially diet -- Attitude: the critical element.

"As a boy, Raun Kaufman was diagnosed by multiple experts as severely autistic, with an IQ below 30, and destined to spend his life in an institution. Years later, Raun graduated with a degree in Biomedical Ethics from Brown University and has become a passionate and articulate spokesperson for the autism community. So what happened? Thanks to Son-Rise, an incredible program his parents created, Raun experienced a full recovery from autism. In Autism Breakthrough, Kaufman presents the ground-breaking principles behind the program that helped him, and so many other families with special children. Kaufman explains that autism is frequently misunderstood as a behavioral disorder when in fact it is a social relational disorder. He explains what it feels like to be autistic, and shows how and why the Son-Rise program, which focuses on the parent-child connection, works. And he offers clear, practical strategies for working with children that readers can apply immediately--in some cases, parents see a change in their children in as little as one day. Autism Breakthrough makes available for the first time in book form the principles and practical applications of the Son-Rise program, presented by someone who not only teaches the program, but has experienced the joy of it in his own life"--