Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love

Raun was born "like all, perfect" to Bears and Suzi Kaufman. Eventually, his parents noticed that Raun could only see certain things and sometimes hear. He also lost a couple of words that he had been taught. He had 12 out of 13 symptoms of autism. Medical professionals were pessimistic about Raun's condition. The only options offered to the Kaufmans at the time was either institutionalization or involvement in a behavior modification-style program that included aversive therapy. Spanking and electrical shock treatment are two examples for this program. His parents also witnessed young children being locked into cabinets by clinicians; other children had their hands tied to the back of chairs for hand-flapping, a self-stimulatory behavior common to autism.