Donate » Making A Difference
Making A Difference
Around the globe, people have taken what they've learned in these programs at The Option Institute to create happier, more loving and productive lives for themselves and others. For information about making donations, donor premiums or planned giving opportunities, contact our Development Department at (413) 229-8063
Below are letters from donors about why they give and thank you letters from financial aid recipients. Enjoy!
Why I Give
 Ami Dalal Teacher, India |
Avis Krag Full Time Mom |
Nicole Schumacher Son-Rise Mom |
Bob Kleszics Business Owner |
Erik Linthorst Son-Rise Dad and Screen Writer |
Anne Marie Organisation Development Consultant |
For years I've moved through life never finding what I wanted or being satisfied with myself or what I had. I didn't believe true happiness existed. Thanks to The Option Institute, I have total self-acceptance and can truly see beauty in everything. I was always waiting for the love of my life to arrive. Now I realise that person has been in the mirror the entire time. I will be forever grateful to the Institute for introducing me to the love affair of a lifetime.
Ami Dalal, Teacher, India
There was a huge difference in my life before and after my coming to The Option Institute. For years, I felt increasingly unhappy in my life, to the point of facing serious depression and hopelessness. I now greet life with gratitude and face every day with enthusiasm and joy. I choose to express this gratitude and face everyday with enthusiasm and joy. I choose to express this gratitude to The Option Institute in donations that enable others to benefit from these life-changing programs. By donating, I have earned premiums which have been used by my own family to come to programs. It is a full circle of sharing love.
Avis Krag, Full Time Mom, Vermont
When I was informed that my son was 'autistic', all of my hopes and dreams for the future were shattered within seconds. I felt so desperate and depressed. I couldn't find anyone to help our son or us. I had never felt so scared in all of my life. Finding The Son-Rise Program and The Option Institute was the miracle that changed our lives forever. We have never felt happier and more empowered as a family than we do now. I felt so compelled, as if I found my 'purpose' in life, to give the same opportunity to other families.
Not only have we personally donated to The Son-Rise Program, we participated in the Walk Around The World and raised over $31, 000. Why do I feel such incredible love and gratitude toward the Son-Rise and The Option Institute staff? Not only have they given us the tools to drastically help our son in ways never thought possible, they have helped my husband and me learn to live the kind of life that most people dream about. For this reason, I feel dedicated not only to help our amazing children; the parents deserve to have a lifetime of happiness as well.
I don't know any other place in the world that cares so deeply for the parents as well as their children. It is a miracle how one place can turn desperation and depression into 'gold.' I am stronger and more empowered than ever before. I will make it my life's mission to help other parents experience what I have been so blessed to receive.
Nicole Schumacher, Son-Rise Mom, Ohio
I discovered The Option Institute eight years ago at a time in my life when I was suffering through severe anxiety and the related ills of debilitating TMJ pain and months of insomnia. At first I read the books, Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues then To Love Is To Be Happy With. By the time I finished Happiness is a Choice I was able to stop the anti-anxiety herbs I had been taking and the jaw pain and sleepless nights never came back. Wow!
So then I attended a one week program, then another. Then I became a Son-Rise Program volunteer for Sean, who was a profoundly autistic and six years old at the time. We have both come so far since those early sessions in the playroom. He's quite a remarkable, formerly autistic, young man now. Three more programs, including the eight week Grand Summer Sequence (formerly Living the Dream), round out my Option resume.
So why do I financially support The Option Institute? I can think of no better concrete example of expressing my profound gratitude. They do amazing work. They help amazing people make amazing changes in their lives. Blessings upon blessings upon blessings.
Bob Kleszics, Business Owner, Pennsylvania
In my charitable giving, I strive to make my donations count. I want to know that my money is helping special needs children transform their lives and accomplish what others say is impossible. And The Son-Rise Program is all about that. How do I know?
At sixteen months of age, my own son was diagnosed with autism, and everything I read in the popular autism books indicated that his condition was incurable. Then I came to The Option Institute, and they told me something else. After a year-long program utilizing the principles I learned in The Son-Rise Program, my son is no longer considered autistic.
That's why I give every penny I can to The Option Institute. Because I'm grateful, yes, but also because there are so many parents of special needs kids who, without the aid of a scholarship, won't have the chance to give their little boy or girl the miracle I was able to give mine.
Erik Linthorst, Son-Rise Dad & Screen Writer, California
I make donations to support the work of The Option Institute for the entirely selfish reason that I want the Institute to be there for me and my family for the rest of our lives.
I've spent a total of 13 weeks on Option programs over the last 9 years, and those 13 weeks have been the best, most joyful, most transformational weeks of my life. And my "real life" has got better and better. It's not that I had bigger problems than other people. I just loved the way my happiness got steadily deeper and more solid. Why would I ever stop going for that?
I got back to London after my latest program (Empower Yourself) a little under 36 hours ago. In that time I have felt loving and comfortable in the face of several people's judgments (a total first!), bought a new computer, shopped for food that will be really good for me, felt great about how much money a charity shop was making out of stuff I'd just brought in, signed up for my first ever speed-dating event and been smiled at by a number of complete strangers. Just an ordinary day - and yet one with a sense of joy and power I could hardly have imagined 9 weeks ago, let alone 9 years ago. I am so darn grateful.
I've not yet needed a scholarship towards a program, but it's great to know they exist. There are so many wonderful people from past programs I would never have met if they hadn't had scholarships. I also love the idea that by donating so that people can have scholarships, I am helping to 'change the world, one person at a time'. In addition, very close friends of mine have received scholarships to attend programs at The Option Institute, and our friendships have been greatly enriched since their time there.
Anne-Marie, Organization Development Consultant, England
Thank you Letters from Financial Aid Recipients
My gratitude for the scholarship program at The Option Institute is limitless and profound.
Growing up, I fell into a cycle of unhappiness. In high school I judged myself as a "loser". I was resigned to a life of mediocrity. A deep depression was followed by fibromyalgia. After working diligently for years with many medical and holistic treatments and protocols with no success, I was at the end of my rope. Finally, I found The Option Institute. But, there was no way I could afford to attend a program. The scholarship I received enabled me the opportunity to attend Grand Summer Sequence (formerly Living The Dream Program), where I completely overcame my depression. I have recovered from the fibromyalgia as well.
Not only have I overcome these huge challenges, I am blossoming into the person I have always dreamed of being (but never dared!). I am forever liberated from the crippling beliefs that stood in the way of my happiness. I am indebted to The Option Institute and to you, the donors who support this work. I so firmly believe in the life-changing work of the Institute that I am planning to enroll in the Mentor Certification Program.
Your support as a donor has helped bring me to a very beautiful, peaceful place in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Mark Tyrrell, Artist, Canada
Dear Donor,
It is with a heart full of love and gratitude that I write you this letter. In July 2003, I came across a Web site that sparked a fire deeper inside of me than I had ever felt before. The Son-Rise ProgramŽ showed a whole new perspective on working with special children and living in general. I was so intrigued by the whole premise that I immediately ordered Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues and Happiness Is A Choice. I soon knew I wanted to be here. I knew I was going to change the world, one amazing child at a time. I applied for Son-Rise Program Child Facilitator Training; and on September 8, 2005, a phone call delivered the greatest news-I had been accepted and would start training in a few short months! I packed up my life and moved out here from Canton, Ohio, and I haven't been the same person since.
On September 13, 2004, 4 other amazing people and I began our journeys together, but as individuals, and it has been a world like no other. It is under the wings of angels like you, who have donated to The Option Institute, that I have learned such amazing things about my life, my world, my beliefs, and myself. Before I came here, I was very good at a lot of things, namely deceiving myself. As an honor student and athlete throughout high school and college, I found myself "working really hard now to make a difference later." All in all, I knew I looked really good-on paper. However, in the mirror was another story. I was spending my life beating myself up, needing to be perfect and knowing I would never really get there. I felt like a hamster on a wheel, running very fast to get absolutely nowhere. I was driven by the belief that I would be "good enough" when I succeeded. The problem was, I had no idea what "success" meant. One day, I had enough. I wanted change. I wanted to find a way to make a difference NOW, not in 10 years. I know God was with me that day when I searched the Internet and found The Option Institute and the Autism Treatment Center of AmericaTM.
My journey since arriving here has been amazing. The children I am blessed to play with each week have become my greatest teachers. Through them, I have found out such marvelous things about myself. One of my biggest learnings is that I AM PERFECT just the way I am, today. No matter what happens tomorrow or what happened yesterday. I am perfect now. Then I figured out not only that I am perfect now, but I was perfect yesterday, and yep, I will be perfect tomorrow. I have the opportunity to play each week with another beautiful child, in a room built out of love and acceptance-and you are the cornerstone!
Your gifts make my life an extraordinary reality, and without your loving support, my training would be nothing more than a dream. I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your generosity, except that each time I see a little boy in the playroom smile at me, I know he is smiling at you, too. Each time I hear a sweet girl speak, I know she is talking to you, too. As I continue the journey of training, I know I will learn many new things about myself and the children, and my love for each of you will only continue to grow. Thank you for this amazing opportunity to be able to spread your love exponentially throughout the world. May God bless you for all you do.
In deepest love and immense appreciation,
Julia
Julia Machuga, Son-Rise Program Child Facilitator , Texas
Dear Donor,
I'm writing to thank the people who donate to the Autism Treatment Center of America. You enabled us to bring our son Michael to the Son-Rise Intensive Program in May, 2005. The generous scholarship we received made it possible for Michael to surpass our wildest dreams! I have worked with many different programs and facilities over the years, my son is nearly sixteen, and I have never found anything close that can match the success our family has been blessed with.
Michael's continued growth after the Son-Rise Intensive has been amazing. It is now February, 2006, and Michael is achieving the life skills, by his own choice, that we have only dreamed of. He has come from a silent, exclusive world of his own, not able to care for himself in almost every way, to a young man who talks, makes requests, plays with friends. He's dressing, eating, cleaning and loves being with us in our world!
My son is living proof that the ATCA is and can be anyone's answer to Autism. How do I thank you for this? This year I was a team leader for Walk Around the World, a 10k walk to raise funds for the ATCA that anyone can sponsor. My team raised the $2,500 that I wanted to give back for the scholarship that my family received. What goes around comes around.
All my love and gratefulness... lots and lots and lots of LOVE!
Terry Ann
Terry Ann Luther, Son-Rise Mom, Florence, OR
Dear Donor,
I am so filled with gratitude and appreciation for donors, like you, who make much of what we do here possible. It is with great pride that I tell you of my journey here and my training process to become a Certified Child Facilitator so far.
In January 2005, I sat at my desk in Albany, NY, deciding whether or not to return to graduate school for Special Education. I was not yet definitively committed to a career as a teacher. I was, however, clearly decided on the fact that I would work with children with autism, in some capacity. On a whim, I typed "autism treatment" into my computer... and my life changed forever. From the moment I began reading about The Son-Rise ProgramŽ, it was abundantly clear that this was the path my life would take. Everything about the program resonated with me; the importance of the facilitator's attitude, the child-directed approach to their social interaction and learning, and, the most enlightened component for me, a deep love and acceptance for these children, no matter what.
With no prior experience or knowledge of the Son-Rise ProgramŽ, I completed the application, updated my resume, ordered Happiness is a Choice and the BBC Documentary, "I Want My Little Boy Back," and haven't looked back since. After my initial phone interview, I was asked to come to the Autism Treatment Center of AmericaTM , so that I could observe a Certified Child Facilitator in the playroom and be asked some questions. After a thirty-minute observation of the most incredible dance between a child and an adult that I had ever seen, I cried during my face-to-face interview, and felt even more convinced that this was what I wanted to do. Never before had I felt so intrigued and tenaciously dedicated to a program and a philosophy.
In April, 2005, I was accepted into the September training class of that year. For the next five months I volunteered with a family about an hour north of where I lived. Twice a week I traveled the fifty miles to digest all that I could about a Son-Rise ProgramŽ, about adopting a Son-Rise attitude and an amazing ten-year-old, who helped me rediscover how truly great it is to laugh and how important it is to be easy with myself.
When I reflect on the past six months of my training, I think about the laughter (and tears), about how much I have allowed people to know about me, and the kids that have changed my life forever. Realizing that I am asking these children to open up to my world, inviting them into an unfamiliar place, has motivated me to open up so much more myself. Once closed and unrevealing, I have grown (and continue to grow) into someone who is no longer afraid to share my most personal thoughts, fears, and joys. Everything about the way that I conduct my daily life has changed. My relationship with my boyfriend of two and a half years has improved beyond my wildest dreams. I feel an ease and comfort with my existence. The love that I had for special children has grown tenfold, as I uncover my beliefs and fashion myself into the person that I want to bring into the playroom: loving, present, calm and playful.
The respect and appreciation that I hold for these amazing children continues to grow, as does my pride and conviction in The Son-Rise ProgramŽ. I am certain that I will be a part of Son-Rise, in some capacity, for the rest of my life. My dreams have become a tangible reality. The respect and appreciation that I feel for you, Dear Donor, also continues to grow. Your generosity and your own faith in the power of this program has been so important to me. Thank you for believing so strongly in possibility, in hope, in love.
With sincere gratitude,
Corinne
Corinne LeBlanc, Son-Rise Program Child Facilitator , Virginia
Dear Donor,
Your donations made it possible for us to receive scholarships so that we could attend a Start-Up Program and learn how to help ourselves and our daughter, Juliette. We have been running a Son-Rise ProgramŽ in our home during the past 16 months and would love to share with you about our journey with our daughter Juliette thus far.
Juliette is our 3rd child and we were excited about her arrival. She was as bright as she was stunningly beautiful, with dark brown eyes, blond curly hair, and a beautiful smile. But after her 2nd birthday she began to withdraw into her own world. She avoided eye-contact and our company. She stopped responding to her name or returning a smile. Even her language declined and disappeared. She lost interest in her dolls and toys, and if she played with them it was in very peculiar ways. She could be right in front of me and my heart would ache from missing her, that's how disconnected she was from the rest of us! We could not penetrate her wall, and I felt like a useless, terrible failure of a mother!
When she had spent the last few months tearing down all our wallpaper, we painted the walls (you can't tear down paint). Then she spent all her days biting on he walls, gnawing off the paint, with great success and efficiency I might add! She was 3 yrs old, still in diapers, had lost all her language, and was literally eating up our house and furniture!!! It was time to ask for help!
When she was diagnosed with autism we weren't surprised, we knew that. But the fact that we were told that there was no way of helping her, and that the most improvement we could ever hope for was that she would learn how to dress herself and eat with a fork, that nearly killed us!!!
Right away we put her in a preschool for autistic children, where she did learn how to dress herself and eat with a fork. But we wanted more for Juliette, and we didn't get more. Instead we got less, less sleep. The minute we put her in school she began sleeping only 4 hrs/night and not even 4 hrs straight. She also began pulling her hair, biting herself, banging her head and screaming for hours. She was always black and blue!
The doctors added ADHD and Mental Retardation to her diagnosis, claiming that she at the age of 4 was at the mental level of a 13 month old baby, and prescribed amphetamines for her ADHD. We were sleep-deprived, depressed and without hope. Our entire family was "drowning" in Juliette's autism.
Then I got in touch with a Son-Rise family and learned about their miraculous journey that was closing in on a very happy ending. Finally some hope! I wanted in on that!! So, I booked a Son-Rise Start-Up week at The Option Institute and prayed for a miracle of our own. Specifically, I humbly prayed for 3 things; 1) to learn how to potty-train Juliette (she was almost 5 yrs old), 2) to get her to sleep at night, and 3) that Juliette would speak 15 different words during the next 6 months (she had uttered 7 in the past 2 years).
Not only did I learn how to reach those 3 goals, but to my surprise I also learned so much about myself, and how to let go of the past and look optimistically into the future. I learned that autism can be cured and how to find the tools within myself to help her. I wasn't a useless, terrible mother! I had the tools to help her all along, I just didn't know it. I came to The Option Institute feeling hopeless and like a failure. I left The Option Institute feeling empowered with my love for Juliette and my family, and with the love from the Son-Rise staff and all the parents I had met at The Start-Up. I felt strong, happy and ready to go!
So, how about my 3 goals for Juliette?
- She was fully toilet-trained within 2 weeks.
- A couple of months into the program we took her out of school to be able to run our program 12-13 hrs/day. She has been sleeping ever since! 9 hrs/night.
- 6 months into her program she had not spoken 15 different words, but 300!!!
Today we are 16 months into our program. My husband and I have been back to the Option Institute for New Frontiers and Maximum Impact. They were both life-changing experiences that have made us not only happier, but now the both of us are fully-equipped to run a successful program, train volunteers, and hold inspiring, informative group meetings. We are a great team, a force of nature x 2! But we still want to come back for more!!!
As for Juliette, she has great eye-contact, is very affectionate, and very happy. She rarely gets upset, and if she does it only lasts for 5 minutes. She loves playing and interacting with her volunteers (and sometimes even with her siblings!), you can hear her laughter throughout the house.
She still loves tearing paper, but you can build it into a game for two, and she will be pretty flexible about it and enjoy the interaction. She has said 500 different words (and then I stopped counting) and she says about 15-30 words/day. And her receptive language amazes us! For example; instead of having to run and physically stop her from doing something, we can now just call out her name and simply tell her that she can't tear that paper because it's Daddy's phone bill, and she will smile back at you and put the paper down (and of course go searching for paper somewhere else ...but not on the walls).
We still have ways to go, but look how far we have come! We are happy and can't wait to see what possibilities and adventures we can make of the future.
Thank You, Dear Donor, for being there and helping to get us started on this amazing journey with our precious little girl!
Lots of Love, Cherrie and Jakop Granlund
Cherrie and Jakop Granlund, Son-Rise Parents, Sweden
When my son Adam, was diagnosed as having epilepsy and Autism, I can only recall my suffering, my tears, the horror and the nights I cried and accused God for such a curse. Then I found the books, Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues and A Miracle to Believe In, and immediately I knew there was a way out. Without thinking, I registered for The Son-Rise Program Start Up, but we couldn't afford it. And then you came, my dear donor, offering a scholarship and making possible the impossible. For us The Son-Rise Program has been the cure for everything in our lives. My husband and I have changed so much and become the parents we always wanted to be but didn't know how. And Adam's progress seems to be unstoppable now. All these miracles are possible due to your help. Since there are no words that can express my gratitude I would just say the most sincere THANK YOU!
Maria Jedral, Physician, Poland
Coming to The Option Institute has been a life-changing event which would not have been possible without financial assistance. As a teacher, I knew I wanted to be like the teachers at the Institute - clear, articulate, assertive, warm, fun and prepared. Then I hit a roadblock - I realized that I believed a teacher was a person who judges others and found myself taking it personally when my students did not do what I wanted them to do. Now I understand that I always have a choice and I can choose how I create my experience as a teacher. I'm looking forward to teaching from a place of empowerment. I've learned so much and feel enthusiastically ready to re-create my life any way I want to, regardless of past experiences.
Darlene Silas-Shorter, Teacher, Chicago, IL
Most of my life was spent in tension, destruction and violence, but now I want to fully enjoy what remains, and this is only possible because of The Option Institute. The way my wife, Zainab, and I are now together is really a miracle because, in my world, this is very unusual. Now, our special son, Ali, is living a peaceful life and we all accept him without any judgement. Before, I treated my office staff inhumanely and without respect; their faces were ... always fearful. Now, smiling faces are everywhere ... everyone is respected. What I have is inner peace and love. And that is priceless!
Zainab Baino and Nisar Nayani , Business Owners, Karachi, Pakistan
