People

Anna with Son-Rise program participant, her mom, Barb!

Anna and her most permanent team member, Me! (her mom)

I started this business to offer others help that turned my life, and that of my autistic daughter, around.  I hear every few months about someone who hurts or kills themself and/or their child, then read further and it sounds to the trained eye/ear like the child had autism.  I remember discovering in the news that a mother in Irving, TX killed her two autistic twin sons while I lived in the very same city and wondered what would have happened if I had reached her first and helped her see there was a light at the end of the tunnel for all of them, and that her sons could actually love and enjoy her and their lives.  I decided that I must share what I know because it was such a gift and really saved both our lives – my daughter’s and mine (you can read more about our twin recoveries in our blog at curingautismtogether.typepad.com).  (If you’re interested in participating in our program here in Milwaukee, please email me your resume and reasons why this opportunity is perfect for you, at barb@curingautismtogether.com.)

While I was figuring out my child had autism – I figured it out just reading an article in a magazine; the formal diagnosis was just a formality – I suddenly realized I had high-functioning autism (Asperger’s) at the very least partially, also just from reading the diagnostic criteria and seeing myself all over that page.  “Who better – or worse – to help her recover from autism?” I wondered, then discovered it was the “better” one!  I realized I see autism from the inside, and can help people crack the code that allows the door between them and their autistic children to open, since I’ve lived on both sides of the wall.  I learned how to recover myself and my daughter using the Son-Rise® Program at the Autism Treatment Center of America, from people who first figured out an attitude, thinking and a suite of strategies that worked really well on their son, Raun Kaufman, who fully recovered and has authored a book about it, called Autism Breakthrough.  Their approach was the only thing that worked sustainably and without animosity, danger or other major drawbacks of other therapies – at least compared to the 25-30 therapies I had tried during the 2 years prior to starting Son-Rise in 2007.  I loved it so much I have done over 6 months of training on-site at the institute where the Son-Rise Program is based  in Sheffield, MA. I am highly trained and certified me in the thinking on which the Son-Rise Program is based (I have been a “Certified Option Process® Mentor-Counselor” since 2014), which is at the foundation of the Son-Rise Program, and without which we could not maintain the sustained positive energy and attitude necessary to fuel our children’s recovery.

I mostly coach people how to handle the day-to-day challenges families face making home autism therapy programs flourish, such as staffing, scheduling, logistics and balancing with your other responsibilities and family members, etc.  I want to help pull people in who might otherwise never have learned about this amazing therapy that works just as a regular autism coach, for those who are just starting their search for solutions.  I hope these people will then go to the Autism Treatment Center of America for training, but can support them in other ways such as being their general mentor and coach, having tackled the hurdles that come with being your child’s positivity “rock”, and autism recovery team leader in your own home and on your own time.  I have trained over 130 people to work with my daughter and help other people recruit, train and maintain their staff while making progress on their child’s autism.

I am additionally the Anat Baniel Method International (ABMI) practitioner training program and am hoping to practice my skills (for free, for now) on autistic persons in areas where I work or travel (such as Milwaukee, WI and Las Vegas, NV) and will graduate in May 2017 as an ABM Practitioner.  Some people have combined these programs successfully as they are very similar perspective, so I am open to doing consulting comparing and combining the approaches, helping people incorporate ABM principles with their autistic family member.  Call or email to discuss further.