When Jennifer Celeste Briggs gave birth to her daughter Sarah in 2007, she was so small that she only fitted in clothing for Premies – but she seemed to be in good health.
However, by six months, Briggs noticed that something was ‘really different’. Sarah did not roll, lifted her head or reached to toys such as other babies her age.
And so specialists conducted CT scans, MRIs, genetic tests and ‘a lot of blood tests’, writes Briggs in her book Looking at Sarah Rise: A Journey of Thriving with Autism.
Ultimately, the results showed that Sarah had a rare genetic anomaly that led to serious autism, and Briggs learned babies with Sarah’s condition often do not learn to walk, talk, use the bathroom or use it themselves.
“We had this diagnosis with a potentially bitterly difficult prognosis, but no real information about our specific case,” writes Briggs.
During the first four years of Sarah’s life, Briggs tried everything: professional, speech and physiotherapy, together with water therapy, riding therapy, food specialists and even acupuncture.
Although some of these therapies can help in cases of mild autism, the case of Sarah was so serious that nothing seemed to work.
Desperate to improve the quality of her daughter’s quality, Briggs attended three-week sessions to get training in an intensive therapy technique called the Son-Rise program, in which parents and child are spent up to 40 hours a week in a special room on a specific type of game.
Jennifer Celeste Briggs is depicted here with her daughter Sarah Briggs, who has a genetic deviation that presents itself as autism
Sarah was born underweight and in six months old her mother noticed that something was ‘different’
Sarah is just one of the thousands of children in the US with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
A CDC report that was released last month revealed that the rates of autism have risen to one in 31 children in the US, a stunning increase of one in 150 two decades ago.
It is unclear what the rise in autism stimulates, but experts attribute to better screening and diagnostics, while others blame environmental oxins, pesticides and ultra-processed food.
Sarah’s first year was filled with challenges. She did not arrive and eventually stopped eating. After nine months, doctors found her not thriving.
Physiotherapists, occupational therapists and a speech pathologist would visit the house of the Briggs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, weekly to work with Sarah.
Her development was seriously delayed and was only when she was 12 months old that Sarah finally stood upright- something that children usually do between six and eight months.
After 18 months she started crawling. She didn’t walk until she was three.
Against four, Sarah made noises and ate more often, but she still didn’t speak. Then Briggs turned to the Son-Rise program.
Ready through the Autism Treatment Center of America (ATCA), enables the Parents program to make highly individualized therapy plans built around the interests and signals of their child.
Briggs explains that ATCA offers techniques to build connection, eye contact, language and attention span to play by children led in a diversion -free space.
The approach can be adjusted to any lifestyle, from a few hours a week to 40 or more.
The program was developed in the 1980s by Bears and Samahria Kaufman for their son, who was considered ‘supposedly unreachable autistic’.
After years of daily 12-hour sessions, he completely came out of his autism and graduated from an Ivy League College and became the global director of ATCA.
“It can be an intense company, but can have a huge impact,” writes Briggs.
She attended her first training session in 2011 and soon launched what she called the Sarah-Rise program the program and our daughter. ‘
In contrast to conventional therapies, which require compliance with the child, the Son-Rise program encourages the child.
Instead of trying to stop repetitive behavior, it embraces them as access points for connection.
Briggs offers an analogy: ‘If I watch my favorite TV program and you come by and tell me that instead I have to come and watch your show, I will probably ignore you.
“But if you look at my show and love it, then I will be more inclined to trust your recommendation on what you should then view – your show.”
As soon as Briggs returned from her first training session of a week, she started to implement what she learned.
She wrote: ‘I gave Sarah more space and time, but I also asked a lot more of her. I started to communicate with Sarah differently.
‘I asked more in terms of language and I waited for her response with more time, encouragement and belief in her assets than I had given her before.
“I made her a little harder.”
Sarah lives in Pennsylvania with her mother (center), younger sister (left) and dad (right)
Briggs followed a training for the Son-Rise program, which she implemented daily for therapy with Sarah
And it worked. One day Sarah asked for a milkshake: “Our world started to change with the Milkshake moment and it didn’t stop there.”
When the family moved, they devoted an entire room to the Sarah-Rise program. It was deliberately bald to reduce distractions and encourage communication.
When Sarah played with Play-Doh, Briggs brought the modeling of words and showing her mouth movements so that Sarah could imitate the sounds.
Early sessions lasted only 30 minutes. Briggs would mirror what Sarah did. When Sarah climbed the stairs, Briggs followed – a ‘moment of connection with her’.
As Sarah was more involved, Briggs added small layers. When Sarah played with candles and noticed that her mother was doing the same, Briggs put the candles in a toy cake.
If Sarah would remain engaged, Briggs would sing a happy birthday.
This technique, called ‘Building’, helps to stretch interactions in shared experiences.
Within a few months, the language development of Sarah immediately exploded.
“To hear her sounds and to witness her sincere attempts to more language were all so exciting,” wrote Briggs.
Sarah’s vocabulary from five partial words grew to 122 full words in a year. She started talking in sentences.
Briggs writes: ‘Sarah has not received things easily. We taught her everything in a minute details time and time again. Sarah was certainly the last person who put things together, and she was remarkable in how she persisted to learn everything. ‘
Sarah is now 18 years old. She goes to school and has a job
Sarah (right) is depicted above with her mother Jennifer and younger sister Amy
By almost nine, Sarah was ready for kindergarten. She was the oldest in her class, but made eye contact, used the toilet, ate well, played games and could read and write.
The family continued the program with fewer hours in the therapy room and more time to explore new activities together.
Yet there were difficult days. Briggs described moments of exhaustion, conflicts and the stress of balancing care for two children with the demands of daily life. But she remained dedicated – driven by Sarah’s progress and resilience.
Today is Sarah 18. She goes to school, has a job twice a week, takes piano lessons, rides on a bike and stars in school musicals. She is also ‘best friends with her bus driver’.
“She has made incredible progress than where we may have dreamed … And she talks a ton,” said Briggs in a YouTube video.
In her book she reflects: ‘Sarah-Rise was an unstoppable success that not only Sarah but also our entire family and all those who names the program to become our best themselves.
‘I have a peace and acceptance that is deeper and solider than ever, and Sarah blooms beyond our wildest imagination, especially in comparison with the days that we did not know if she would learn to roll or eat or speak.
“While Sarah-Rise can be officially over, it is forever the lens that makes us connect and communicate useful and meaningfully with Sarah.”
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