How is RISE different?

RISE Therapy and other interventions such as Attention Autism are both approaches that aim to support engagement and communication. Both value joy, shared attention, sensory experiences, and offer predictable structure the learner and supporting adults. This is important to acknowledge from the beginning because RISE was never created to compete with approaches like Attention Autism. Instead, RISE was developed to meet a different need that we noticed in learners we work with.

RISE was created for learners who may not yet feel emotionally safe enough to engage in more expectation-based group experiences. It is particularly supportive for learners who are highly anxious, demand avoidant, shutdown-prone, trauma-affected, dysregulated, or uncertain around adults, peers, or structured learning environments. Those who struggle to transition in and out of activities or between areas in class. 

Rather than beginning with gaining attention, RISE begins with regulation and reconnection, a connection and emotional safety based step. The learners also lead the pace of the session and only move on when they are individually ready to, not when the lead adult decides. This promotes listening to their bodies and prioritises regulation and emotional safety throughout. 

We also noticed that our visually impaired, PMLD, high support needs learners and learners working at an early developmental stage needed to get right into the action right away. In RISE there is no step for waiting or watching. They can also explore freely, we follow their natural ways to play, explore and learn. There is no “right way” in RISE. It is up to us to make their exploration and play safe and accessible by understanding their schemas and sensory profiles and taking this into consideration when planning our sessions.

The goal is not to encourage learners to participate in a set way or at a certain time. Instead, the aim is to create an environment where learners feel safe enough to become curious, explore, and connect at their own pace.

This means participating becomes errorless, they cannot fail. For some learners, simply choosing to remain in the space is a significant achievement. For others, it may be the first time they initiate interaction, tolerate proximity to peers, or engage in shared sensory exploration without distress.

In RISE, participation is intentionally flexible.

A learner may:

• watch from a distance
• briefly approach and leave
• engage through movement rather than speech
• repeat actions independently
• communicate through gesture, AAC, vocalisation, or body language
• simply remain regulated in the environment

All of these responses are viewed as meaningful.

RISE places strong value on autonomy and nervous system safety. The learner is not required to sit, respond, copy, join in verbally, or maintain attention in a neurotypical way in order to be considered engaged.

One of the biggest differences between RISE and more presentation-led interventions is the role of the adult.

In some approaches, the adult is intentionally highly animated, attention-grabbing, and central to the experience. This can work brilliantly for many learners and can create excitement, anticipation, and engagement.

In RISE, the adult takes a different stance for the most part,

The adult becomes:

• a co-regulator
• an observer
• a responsive communication partner
• a safe presence
• a facilitator of shared experiences rather than a performer

Adults model without expectation. They invite rather than direct. They validate rather than correct.

This subtle shift can make a significant difference for learners who experience anxiety around demands, unpredictability, or social pressure.

Both RISE and sensory-based interventions may use motivating sensory activities such as:

• tuff trays
• messy play
• cause-and-effect experiences
• lights, textures, sounds, movement, or music

However, in RISE, these sensory experiences are not primarily used to capture attention.

Instead, they are used to:

• lower anxiety
• support co-regulation
• encourage exploratory play
• build trust
• create opportunities for naturally occurring communication
• support emotional safety in shared spaces

The sensory experience itself is often slower paced and more learner-led.

At its core, RISE is about relationship.

It recognises that some learners cannot access communication, learning, or group participation consistently until they first feel safe, connected, and understood.

For this reason, RISE places significant emphasis on:

• attunement
• pacing
• observation
• emotional regulation
• shared experiences without pressure
• repairing trust in learning environments

This can be particularly powerful for learners who have experienced repeated feelings of failure, overwhelm, masking, or misunderstanding in educational settings.

No single intervention will meet the needs of every learner.

Some learners thrive with high-energy, highly engaging presentation-based approaches. Others need slower pacing, reduced demands, and more space to process sensory and social information.

Many settings successfully use both approaches at different times, for different purposes, or with different learners.

This is not about one intervention being “better” than another.

It is about recognising that neurodivergent learners are not all the same, and neither are their nervous systems.

RISE was developed from lived classroom experience working with autistic learners, minimally speaking learners, learners with PMLD, learners experiencing high anxiety, and children who were often described as “hard to engage.”

Over time, it became clear that some learners were not disengaged because they lacked interest or capability. They were disengaged because the environment, pace, demands, or social expectations did not yet feel safe enough.

RISE was designed to bridge that gap.

Not through pressure or compliance, but through connection, predictability, regulation, curiosity, and shared experiences built on trust.

If you would like to learn more about RISE Therapy and how it can support emotionally safe engagement, communication, and connection, you can explore the training here:

https://risetherapysessions.com/collections/training

and demo videos here:

https://risetherapysessions.com/pages/demo-videos