Son-Rise Program and Autism Ranking:

There are a number of limitations to the studies published to date. For example

The study by Houghton et al (2013)

Had a small number of participants (12 in total, with only 6 participants receiving the Son-Rise program).
Used an active treatment which lasted only 5 days while the control group did not receive the same number of hours of intervention.
Relied on delivery of the Program by Son-Rise therapists (rather than by the parents of the children) and took place at the Autism Treatment Center of America (rather than in the homes of the parents of the children).
Selected the experimental group children and the control group children from family members of autistic children who had already completed a Son-Rise Program parent-training course
Used a controlled group but the participants were not randomised and the participants and therapists were not blinded to the intervention being provided.
Did not measure the long term effects of the Program including any impact on the emotional well being of the children or the impact on the whole family

The study by Thompson C. K. Jenkins T. (2016)

Used a basic pre-post test design in which participants were compared to each other after the intervention took place
Relied on parents’ subjective assessments of their child’s progress rather than more objective measurements administered by an independent evaluator
Did not used standard assessment measures of the children’s cognition, communication, and other abilities before or after the Program was delivered.
Did not provide an independent assessment of how well the parents kept to the Program or how many hours of the Program they actually delivered
Did not measure the long term effects of the Program including any impact on the emotional well being of the children or the impact on the whole family

For a comprehensive list of potential flaws in research studies, please see ‘Why some autism research studies are flawed’

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