When Raun K. Kaufman was a little boy, he was diagnosed with what they called at the time "severe" autism. He was non-speaking, seemed to be non-hearing, and spent his days rocking back and forth while moving his fingers in front of his eyes or spinning a kitchen plate on its edge (like a top) while flapping his hands...
... Raun's parents were told that his diagnosis alongside a tested I.Q. below 30 meant that he would spend his life in an institutional setting where the best-case scenario would be that he learn to dress himself and eat with silverware. According to the experts, Raun would never speak, prefer people over objects, make friends, read a book, or attend a mainstream school (or any school). Thus, it seemed plain to them that Raun would not live a life that included such things as graduating from high school, going to college, falling in love, living on his own, having a career of any kind, or getting married. It was explained that these life experiences were simply not in the cards for him.
Raun's parents, turning their backs on these prognoses and predictions, worked with him in a totally new, wonderfully nurturing way. And, over time, Raun grew and blossomed spectacularly, ultimately going on to accomplish every single thing (and more) that his parents were promised he would not. (See biographical information below for more.) A best-selling book and an award-winning movie were made about Raun's journey.
Meanwhile, half a world away, in the United Kingdom, a young dyslexic girl named Kate C. Wilde watched a movie that changed her life. It was about a little boy with autism. She was mesmerized and enthralled. And she decided, then and there, that she wanted to spend her life working with autistic children and adults. And so she did.
Many years later, in 1992, Raun K. Kaufman, aged 19, and Kate C. Wilde, aged 24, met when Kate accompanied a family with an autistic girl who traveled to America to get help from the non-profit autism training center founded by Raun's parents. (On the plane to the U.S., Kate had no idea that she was traveling to meet the subjects of the movie that altered her life trajectory.) The two quickly became best friends and went on to work together for decades (since 1998), spending years traveling the world teaching courses and leading seminars as a team. After decades of working together, they used their accumulated knowledge and experience working with thousands of families, autistic people, professionals, and educators to co-create the Safe To Connect autism approach, the ACT (Autism Crisis Turnaround) protocol, the 5 Natural Laws of Autism, the 3 Autism Neuro-States, Taxi Driver Decisional Assistance, the Rise Above and Neuro-Crash Mastery mental-emotional approaches, and the Safe To Connect approach for couples. The neurodivergent duo also pioneered the concept of the Neuro-Crash, which has caught on in the field to such an extent that an entire conference, with an array of speakers, was held to discuss the phenomenon, and a Psychology Today article was written about the concept.
Their mission, and that of Safe To Connect, is fourfold:
- To do everything possible to ensure that people on the autism spectrum are understood, respected, valued, honored, and enabled to enjoy lives of autonomy, happiness, connectedness, safety, and fulfillment.
- To enable parents (1) to know exactly what to do to help their autistic loved ones feel safe and thrive in this world and (2) to feel a deep sense of confidence and emotional peace in their interactions with them.
- To give professionals and educators every conceivable tool to work with their autistic students/clients in a way that is neurodiversity-affirming and neurodivergence-aligned, is free from coercion, pushing, judgment, and overload, and helps their autistic students/clients to grow and overcome challenges without compromising their feelings of safety and comfort.
- To help people from all walks of life cultivate mental and emotional well-being by learning how to make friends with their nervous systems, embrace their emotions, and free themselves from unpleasant, dysregulating types of thinking.
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MORE ABOUTÂ RAUN AND KATE
Raun K. Kaufman
Raun K. Kaufman, an international lecturer and graduate of the Ivy League's Brown University with a degree in Biomedical Ethics, is the author of the award-winning book, Autism Breakthrough: The Groundbreaking Method That Has Helped Families All Over the World. The former CEO of an international autism training non-profit, Raun has spent well over 25 years working with families, children, professionals, and educators from over 100 different countries – using innovative neurodivergence-aligned autism approaches built around a true understanding of the autistic experience (as someone who himself was diagnosed with so-called “severe” (non-speaking) autism as a child).
Over the past three decades, individuals, couples, and groups have benefitted from Raun’s brain-centered, nervous-system-friendly, heart-led work in the field of mental-emotional health, as well.
He conducts lectures and seminars worldwide and was the recipient of the Best Presenter award at the national Autism One conference, given to the winner of a nationwide survey. He has been interviewed by media such as National Public Radio, CBS, NBC, Fox News Channel, BBC Television,The Oregonian, Â The London Telegraph, and People Magazine.
Kate C. Wilde
Kate C. Wilde has spent more than 30 years working with children and adults on the autism spectrum and their families, as well as with therapists, educators, and schools. She is the author of the acclaimed books, Autistic Logistics: A Parent’s Guide to Tackling Bedtime, Toilet-Training, Tantrums, Hitting, and Other Everyday Challenges, The Autism Language Launcher: A Parent’s Guide to Helping Your Child Turn Sounds and Words Into Simple Conversations, and Autism Abracadabra: Seven Magic Ingredients to Help Develop Your Child’s Interactive Attention Span.
Kate has also spent decades helping individuals with long-standing mental and emotional challenges in a way that supports their values, their nervous system, and their most cherished relationships.
Renowned for the courses she teaches throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Kate speaks at worldwide online autism summits, as well. She is a columnist for Exceptional Needs Today, and has written articles for such publications as Autism Parenting Magazine in the U.S. and SEN Magazine in the U.K. She has forever left her mark on the autism world by having, over the years, intensively trained and qualified more than 40 professionals who have gone on to help thousands of families, children, and educators across the globe.
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