The Option Institute and Fellowship
2080 S. Undermountain Rd.
Sheffield, MA 01257-9643
Phone: (413) 229-2100
Fax: (413) 229-8931
E-mail: happiness@option.org
Internet: http://www.option.org/

Mandelbrot for Windows was Cerious Software's very first product. Phillip originally wrote it in 1992 in order to learn Windows programming. It produces gorgeous fractal images based on Benoit Mandelbrot's equations. You can select the colors to use, zoom anywhere within the set, generate perspective views, save and load images, export to BMP files and more!

Here is a great page of Mandelbrot images by Len Warne.

Download Mandelbrot for Windows 3.0b

Laura Shook, President of Cerious Software, has an autistic daughter named Ashley. Here's how the Son-Rise Program has helped Ashley:

Ashley was diagnosed with Autism and moderate mental retardation when she was 15 months old. As most parents would, we researched every avenue of help. What we saw appalled us. Our sense of love for our daughter would never have allowed us to "modify her behavior" as most programs out there for autism will have you do. I could not picture bribing her with M & M’s, tying her hands down so that she would not 'ism', or shouting at her to behave appropriately. Then I discovered the book Son Rise, The Miracle Continues, by Barry Kaufman. My hopes and prayers had been answered. Here was a program of acceptance and unconditional love that appealed to us! We traveled to Option Institute and learned the program. Upon returning home, we continued to treat Ashley with the love and support we were taught at Option and she became happier. Then, Gary sold his plumbing company in order to stay home and run a full-time program for Ashley. We started searching for volunteers to help us in the playroom. In April of ’96, we had our playroom built, our volunteers rounded up and were ready to begin.

In April '96, when she was 5 1/2, Ashley did not talk with any consistency. She refused to try to use the potty, never pretended and never showed any reaction to pain. Already (August '96), she is speaking full sentences daily. She is talking so much that we are working on pronunciation. In fact, her cognitive skills are way above age level now contradicting the original diagnosis of retardation! Ashley is pretending, using the potty, and seeking comfort when she hurts herself. For the first time, she is playing with her brother and sister. She is writing many words and sentences. Ashley has drawn hundreds of pictures of people. Some are playing together, some are looking into each others eyes, some are riding on the backs of others, but they are all interacting! We are watching this beautiful, perfect little girl leave the world of autism with such grace and joy that we are astounded. The lives that we led before are fading into the background as we grow and evolve with her. There is now no doubt in our minds that anything is possible in this world, even the impossible! Yet, while we still believe that eventually there will be no signs of autism, future diagnosis no longer matter to us in any way. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that even if she is never seen by outside eyes as "normal", she will contribute something amazing to this world we live in.

Here are examples of some of Ashley's recent writing and drawing.