According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in every 36 children, and at least 2% of adults in the U.S., have autism spectrum disorder. Genetic factors are the main cause, but there can also be other developmental and environmental factors. 

Present at birth, autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects brain development. Some symptoms are difficulty making eye contact, understanding social norms, interpreting non-verbal cues, starting and maintaining conversations and adjusting behavior for different social settings.

Jennifer Celeste Briggs, who grew up in Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy, and wrote the just-released book, "Watching Sarah Rise: A Journey of Thriving with Autism," wants parents with autistic children to know that they do not have to suffer in silence and that there is a counterintuitive program that has produced results which border on the miraculous. 

Briggs spoke about her book, which was published by She Writes Press, on March 2 at booked in Chestnut Hill (where there are signed copies). Briggs and her husband, Carl, have a daughter, Sarah, now 18, who was still nonverbal at age 4 1/2 and engaging in repetitive behaviors. 

The parents then learned about The Autism Treatment Center of America in Sheffield, Massachusetts, which was pioneering "The Son-Rise Program," created by authors and teachers Barry ("Bears") Neil Kaufman and his wife, Samahria Lyte Kaufman, in 1983 when their son, Raun, was diagnosed with a severe and "incurable" case of autism and when they were advised to put him into an institution.

The Kaufmans' innovative program marked a complete departure from accepted methods of treatment. According to the Kaufmans, Raun transformed from a mute, withdrawn child with an IQ of less than 30 into a highly verbal, socially interactive youngster. 

Raun went on to graduate from Wesleyan University, was a director of an educational center for school-aged children and an author who eventually taught and assumed directorial roles himself in The Son-Rise Program.

Briggs told us last week that she went there for a week, where she learned how to “read certain signs, how to set up a room and train volunteers.”

The Son-Rise Program fosters social connection, Briggs said, and provides intensely focused one-on-one therapeutic play time – which turned out to be transformative for Sarah. 

"Sarah had made sounds but had not put them together. By the time she was 5, though, after I was using the program, she was exploding with language," Briggs explained. "With The Son-Rise Program, you pay more attention to social development than academic development. After all, if a kid can't pay attention, how will they learn? The academic part is actually the easy part."

According to Briggs, the Kaufmans did not stop their son from engaging in repetitive behavior. 

“They did just the opposite. They joined in the behavior,” she said. “You are showing that you love and accept your son or daughter. When they pay attention, they might eventually stop the behavior, but even if they do not stop, it is OK. Sarah liked opening and closing lids, for example."

At age 9, Sarah was ready to go to kindergarten. She was the oldest child in the class, but she was always physically small, so she did not stand out. 

Eventually, her eye contact intensified, she played games imaginatively, used the toilet, ate healthily and was able to read and write. 

Briggs went to Plymouth Meeting Friends School, Friends Central School and Swarthmore College, majoring in English literature. Her father, Jack Briggs, was a teacher at Friends Central for many years. Her stepfather, Ralph Purvis, was instrumental in establishing the High School Academies program in Philadelphia public schools while working at Girard Bank. Her mother, Janet Mather, a former teacher at local Friends' schools, has lived with Purvis in Chestnut Hill for 37 years.

She became a massage therapist, and had her own practice for 24 years, but closed it to focus on her book – a project that took 3 1/2 years. 

Briggs' husband, Carl, is an engineer who works on self-driving trucks for the Aurora company. The couple, who now live in Pittsburgh, met while they were students at Swarthmore. Their other daughter, Amy, is almost 14. 

"One of the best things we ever did was have Amy," Briggs said. "It is still somewhat hard for Sarah to connect with adults or other kids, but she is completely safe with Amy throwing a ball, for example."

"As I've talked with people recently – at the dentist, the grocery store, my chiropractor," Mather said last week, "I've been struck with the number who have someone with autism in their circle."

Jennifer Briggs will have another book reading/discussion event on Saturday, March 29, 6:30 p.m., at Main Point Books in Wayne and a book signing event on Sunday, May 4, 1 p.m., at Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Meeting. 

For more information, visit watchingsarahrise.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.