Is there a mountain standing smack in the way of your BIG DREAM of coming to the Autism Treatment Center of America for one of The Son-Rise Program courses? Are you postponing getting the tools you need to help your child live a bigger and better life because you just can’t afford it right now? If you need help to move that mountain because of limited financial resources ... we have good news for you!

Get ready to push that mountain right out of the way. We can help you move it thanks to some very caring and generous donors who have set up special scholarship funds, and you just might qualify for financial aid or a scholarship from one of these funds.

See below for special scholarships available:

• Australia Son-Rise Program Scholarship Fund
• Karen & Joe Gorman Ohio /ATCA Scholarship Fund
• California Son-Rise Program Scholarship Fund
• CAARE Long Island & New York City Son-Rise Program Scholarship Fund

Australia Son-Rise Program Scholarship Fund

Already parents of two children, Greg and Sonya Leslie were thrilled to add triplets to their family in 2005. Just four years later, two of the triplets, Bridgett and Spencer, were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Neither Bridgette nor Spencer had any language. Bridgette flapped her hands and Spencer had zero eye contact. Greg and Sonya found The Son-Rise Program and fell in love with the philosophy of love and acceptance and haven't looked back since. They have seen immense changes in their family as a result of using The Son-Rise Program principles at home in Australia! To help other Australian families challenged by Autism and financial need to access the miraculous, life-changing teachings in The Son-Rise Program, they've set up the Australia Son-Rise Program Scholarship Fund. Click here to learn more about Greg and Sonya Leslie and their five children.

To learn more about The Son-Rise Program or to apply for financial aid, call
1-877-766-7473 to schedule a free 25-minute phone initial call with a
Son-Rise Program Family Counselor.

To make a contribution to the Australia Son-Rise Program Scholarship Fund email Development at development@option.org or call 413-229-2100 x127.

Karen & Joe Gorman Scholarship Fund

When Karen Gorman learned the young son of her college roommate and lifelong friend, Jeannie Reid, had been diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and needed special treatment, she wanted to help.

Jeannie told Karen and her husband, Joe, about the book she had found, Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues, and how it had started her on her life-altering journey along with her husband, Stuart, and her son, Carson. She explained that The Son-Rise Program treatment’s amazing techniques had empowered her to open up Carson’s world and how his progress, after she had attended The Son-Rise Program Start-Up at the Autism Treatment Center of America in Sheffield, MA, had made quantifiable leaps and bounds. Today Carson is attending a Montessori school as a 'typical' student and functioning at or above typical grade level, being fully verbal and conversational, and very interested in learning about the world and interacting as much as possible with other people.  He is even taking swim lessons at the local YMCA and doing great!

Karen and Joe, who were acquainted with the devastating effects Autism Spectrum Disorder can have on children and families were inspired by Jeannie’s enthusiasm to help in any way they could.

First, they organized an Autism awareness/fundraising event in their home and invited many concerned friends and acquaintances to familiarize them with the scope of the challenges faced by those touched by Autism. This event raised over $16,000 in donations to The Son-Rise Program. Next, they set up a special scholarship fund at ATCA and made a substantial donation to it so that children and families from Ohio would not have any impediment to taking advantage of The Son-Rise Program. Through their generous actions, many families will be positively impacted and will achieve life-altering changes they thought they could only dream about. Hope and success have come back into their vocabularies.

The Karen and Joe Gorman Ohio/ATCA Scholarship Fund was established in the fall of 2008 and several families have already received the benefit of financial aid from this fund to attend The Son-Rise Program Start-Up and other programs.

If you would like to donate to The Karen and Joe Gorman Ohio/ATCA Scholarship Fund in support of Ohio families who need financial help to come to The Son-Rise Program, contact Development at development@option.org or call 413-229-2100 x127.

A San Francisco area family donated a substantial sum to set up the California Son-Rise Program Scholarship Fund that offers help to families living in California who have children with Autism and special needs. This scholarship fund is an extraordinary, special gift, offering hope to families who want help for their children. It provides a unique opportunity for these parents to gain access to a system of teaching and treatment for their children that they can implement in their own homes in an atmosphere of loving acceptance.

This new Son-Rise Program Scholarship Fund can reduce seminar tuition costs significantly, depending on the circumstances of the family. To receive scholarships parents need to demonstrate financial need. The scholarships will be available until the fund is depleted and will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.

Eligibility includes families and professionals living in the state of California.

The fund will give parents and professionals from this area the opportunity to receive special scholarships to attend a Son-Rise Program five-day training seminar at the non-profit Autism Treatment Center of America™ in Sheffield, MA. Parents may attend The Son-Rise Program Start-Up training December 5-10, 2010 or on one of several scheduled weeks in 2011. Those who have already attended The Son-Rise Program Start-Up can apply for scholarship funding towards The Son-Rise Program New Frontiers, Maximum Impact, or Wide Awake programs.

For more information about the scholarships, the financial aid application, and to learn more about The Son-Rise Program, parents can contact the Autism Treatment Center of America at The Option Institute to schedule a free 25-minute phone initial call with a Son-Rise Program Family Counselor at 1-877-766-7473 or email Development at development@option.org or call 413-229-2100 x127.

The Council for Autism Awareness, Research and Education (CAARE) and the Autism Treatment Center of America (ATCA) have created the CAARE Long Island & New York City Son-Rise Program Scholarship Fund. This fund is designated for financial aid and scholarships to benefit families from Long Island (including Queens and Brooklyn) and New York City. Families in need of financial assistance may apply for supplemental help from this fund to attend the following training courses: Son-Rise Program Start-Up, Son-Rise Program Maximum Impact, Son-Rise Program New Frontiers and Son-Rise Program Wide Awake.

In 2004, when Sharon and Tim Edwards’ 18-month-old son, Riley, was diagnosed with Autism, Sharon immediately started Riley on intensive 40+ hours per week training with traditional Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). But, despite the best efforts of Sharon, her family and the professionals they were working with, Riley showed little to no improvement in skills.

Unshaken in her determination, Sharon resolved to do all that was possible to give her son the full, rich life he deserves and to do more to help families like hers that were living with Autism every day. Sharon enlisted her sister, Kerri Tufano, and her lifelong friend, Hayden Cantwell, in establishing CAARE (Council for Autism Awareness, Research & Education) Organization Corp. as a 501(c)(3), to help spread Autism understanding.

In CAARE’s 5th year, Sharon learned about The Son-Rise Program, the unique, home-based treatment system taught at the Autism Treatment Center of America that places no limits on the possibilities for children on the Autism spectrum. Seeing this as the kind of program she wanted for Riley, Sharon found tremendous hope for him with the program’s teachings based on love and acceptance for her son.

In the first 8 months using The Son-Rise Program Riley had tremendous growth in his interactive attention span. The number of words that he was using jumped up to 20 from just 2 before starting the program. He began to initiate more activities than ever before and is happier and able to process more in public events. He recently attended his older brother’s deck hockey practice in a large gymnasium and was calm throughout.

These successes in Riley’s life, due to implementation of The Son-Rise Program, led CAARE to decide to share the funds raised from their 5th annual “A Cool Night by the Sea” fundraiser with other local families wanting more for their children with Autism. From this event in 2009, $25,000 was donated to the Autism Treatment Center of America to create the CAARE Long Island & New York City Son-Rise Program Scholarship Fund.

For more information about the scholarships, the financial aid application, and to learn more about The Son-Rise Program, parents can contact the Autism Treatment Center of America (ATCA) at The Option Institute to schedule a free 25-minute phone initial call with a Son-Rise Program Family Counselor at 1-877-766-7473 or email Development at development@option.org or call 413-229-2100 x127.