Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love

Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love, was one of the many "made-for-TV" and "based on a true story" movies that were so popular in the late 1970's, and I consider it to be one of the best. It is the story of a family dealing with the difficulties of raising an autistic child. The couple already had two young daughters when their son, Raun, was born. While they were excited to finally have a son, the couple became concerned when Raun failed to develop emotionally in the same way that their daughters had. Shortly thereafter, Raun was diagnosed as autistic. He could not form complete sentences and he would spend hours at a time, spinning a china plate on the tile floor, shaking his hands wildly in the air while he watch the plate spin, then starting the process over again...spinning the plate and shaking his hands in the air.

Raun's parents took him to several specialists and considered placing him in a full-time care facility until they discovered that many of these facilities suffered from poor sanitation or experimented with shock-treatment. The couple found this to be very frustrating and disappointing, often blaming themselves for their son's situation. Raun's mother laments, "When I was pregnant with the girls, I would continually ask God to make sure that they were healthy. When Raun was on the way, all I could think to ask was that we have a son."

Finally, the couple decided to develop their own therapy program for their son. With years of hard work, tremendous patience and a seemingly endless capacity for love, Raun's parents and sisters were able to help him find a way out of his autism, and become able to interact with other people in a more "normal" way.

It has been more than 20 years since "Son-Rise" appeared on television. But the moving story of a family's determination to help their son, continues to be an inspiration to me.

I only saw the very end of it but made a point to record it it will be on one of the Encore stations again on 9/18 It should be made available to Teachers, Families of Autistic children for a movie 30 years old it just shows you how a loving family can make a difference all I can say is I work with special needs children and this movie would help me understand the kids I am working with. I have dealt with children who have varying degrees of autism it truly should be made available as well as the Novel to Schools, hospitals and other institutions basically I see this film as a Great Teaching tool if it is not used already I just happened upon it by accident This movie as well as other made for TV Movies can help in many ways the networks that produced them should make them available So many of them are forgotten

there are many movies that I saw in School that I have made a point to find or see again.

Such as Rickie Ticky Tavie Bang the Drum Slowly Movies are for entertainment but also can be used as teaching tools

I watched this thing obviously to just stare at the tv and have never forgotten it. Every now and then a movie with no recognition and no performances dominating it come along and you don't forget them and this was one of them. I have never even talked to anyone about this story and I worked for a year and a half with handicapped children.

Obviously it was true. I never regarded it as a disease of the week film. I can still see the child banging his crib in the dark and spinning plastic lids. When they took the lid away from him, he rocked.

The cure was startling to say the least, but the movie followed that it worked. Whether or not it could, who knows? But from what we saw in the story, it seemed plausible. Then there was a relapse, complete and utter devastation. It was a compelling story, especially from the children involved. I believe one of the sisters was a recognizeable child actress, who went on to appear on Little House on the Prairie in its final years.

I remember seeing this movie when I was in my early teens. It moved me to tears. I didn't understand autism at the time, I don't think anyone did back then, but it was a truly wonderful story about a family's love for their son. I can remember the scene where the parents checked out a local facility for kids with problems like Raun's, and seeing the goings on at that place scared them into reconsidering and taking over his intervention themselves.

The hard part was watching how hard it was on Raun's sisters. Their parents were obsessed with trying to reach Raun and pull him out of his world. But then they were included on the intervention and they too spent a lot of time locked in the bathroom with him and doing everything he would do. It was heart wrenching, yet very inspirational. I would love to have the movie on DVD to own, cause now I think I would look at it differently, not just as a grown up and a parent, but as a parent of an autistic child.

This movie is a must see, I would recommend this movie to everyone. It is wonderful. I can't say enough good things about it. I love it!

Its been over 4 decades since this movie was filmed and a lot of knowledge has been gained in the field of autism in the last 45 years. I wish the movie could be re-released with updated references confirming any trials with these methods or new methods. Today, its rare to see the type of autistic child exhibited in this film - the kids are either more of the savant/emotional disturbance side of the spectrum or the brain damage / mental retardation side of the spectrum and neither of these groups would likely benefit from the techniques employed in this movie. Every once in a while you see an "old fashioned typical autistic kid" (I know that's a cliche and no autistic kid is similar to another) but you know when you know you have seen a kid where maybe this family's efforts would be beneficial. I hope more people get to see this film and consider the possibilities, especially if their child falls in the middle like this.