Want to be more alive, daring and powerful? Feeling overwhelmed by life and wishing for miracles? When life throws a challenge your way, you have a choice: despair and give up or use the experience to grow and change.

I was given the gift of a challenge just over three years ago when my son, Curtis, became ill. Within months, he was locked in a world of his own, without the ability to communicate, often avoiding the touch of loved ones, rarely responding to attempts to play with him. His toys gathered dust as he spent much of his time in an odd dance that involved pacing, raising his arms, squealing and creating forceful utterances. The diagnosis: Autistic Spectrum Disorder. A fate which traditionally carries labels like ‘lifelong disability,’ ‘incurable,’ ‘a tragedy.’

This ‘tragedy’ changed my life. I discovered Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues, a book by Barry Neil Kaufman, which details the miracle Kaufman and his wife, Samarhia, experienced with their severely autistic and mentally retarded son, Raun. Although doctors insisted that Raun could not be helped, the Kaufmans viewed this as an opportunity rather than a tragedy.

Believing that Raun held the key to how to reach and teach him, they joined him in his world. When he rocked for hours, they’d rock. When he became hypnotized with spinning plates, they joined in fully. By flowing with Raun’s movements, they got his attention gained unique insights that allowed them to teach him. They worked with Raun twelve hours a day for three years. Today, he has no signs of the supposedly "incurable" autistic disorder, has graduated from college with honors, and has tested at a near genius level IQ!

The Kaufmans now run The Option Institute in Sheffield, Massachusetts, which teaches people a powerful method for understanding the beliefs that limit them and how to let them go. Their work has helped hundreds of people challenged with adversity and those wishing to find happiness and empowerment within themselves.

Our journey with The Option Institute’s Son-Rise Program began well over a year ago. In that time, we’ve seen many miracles in Curtis, in ourselves, and in our volunteers. We’ve seen confused people become clear on what they want in their lives and people afraid to assert themselves gather the confidence to speak out. We are constantly awed by our child’s effect on people as they volunteer to spend more and more time with him to get their "Curtis fix." Curtis amazes us daily with phenomenal progress but still often withdraws into himself. We are learning to see this as a cycle and move with it, trusting in divine timing and fully experiencing the lessons and rewards along the way.

After a week of extraordinary growth about six months into his program, Curtis moved into an "in his own world" cycle, not looking at or responding to people. Instead, he ran back and forth across the room, grabbing markers, and throwing them. I joined him happily hoping that by totally joining his world, I might inspire him to rejoin mine. As the day wore on, my faith began to waver. Four hours into the marker throwing activity, I began to doubt myself and the program. Using techniques the program teaches, I began questioning my beliefs. Why does a day of marker throwing make me doubt my abilities? On and on I questioned until I arrived at the belief that my son needed to change for me to feel good about myself. Once I discovered the belief, I could freely let it go, knowing that I could feel good about myself and my efforts regardless of Curtis’ response. At that very moment, Curtis stopped, came over to me, looked me right in the eyes and said "I love you, Mama." It was the first time he had ever said it. That was all I needed. With tears of joy in my eyes, I happily rejoined him in his marker-throwing world, vowing to trust myself and my child to show me the way.

Finding the beliefs that limit us and being rewarded triumphantly for letting them go, even if only for a moment, allow us to find the most loving, powerful part of ourselves. Continuous opportunities to stretch ourselves and our abilities as Curtis grows and challenges us, free us to be happy and empowered regardless of what life throws our way.

What people are Son-Rise volunteers? All types! We’ve been blessed with all kinds of people from outgoing, powerful ones to those considered shy, those who work with children as a career to those who didn’t know they were good with children. The commonality we have found with our most effective volunteers is a desire to look at life in a new way, to move away from limitations, and to see an opportunity in every situation. Isn’t that true about everything we face?

If you feel inspired to join Curtis’ Son-Rise program, call Gaylen at (281) 447-1511 or e-mail MTharp2668@aol.com. Monetary donations may be sent to: Curtis Tharp’s Son-Rise Program, c/o The Option Institute and Fellowship, 2080 S. Undermountain Road, Sheffield, Massachusetts 01257-9643.

For information about The Option Institute’s adult programs, books, tapes and Son-Rise programs outside the Houston area, contact The Option Institute at (800) 714-2779 or website: http://www.option.org.