RDI® Therapy

What is RDI®?

RDI®stands for Relationship Development Intervention. The name sounds like something you would go to with your boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife when you are trying to save your relationship. If there were something like this for partnerships, it would be great to know there was a  line of defense that would work. In that sense, RDI® is this kind of solution; it is a solid course of action that does work.

As parents, you have tried everything else and your children just don’t seem to be able to break beyond some unseen barrier that keeps them from having friends, going to prom, attending college, getting a job and moving out.

When your child was born, you had these very simple goals for him/her. But when you heard those three simple words, “Autism Spectrum Disorder,” those goals came crashing down and your expectations for a positive future took a long sabbatical.

Well, pull yourself together and dust yourself off. The fact that you are here means you are ready to tackle this and ask the question, “Does it have to be that bad?” The answer is no, it does not have to be that bad.

RDI® is based on years of research of both autism and typical development. By understanding the process of typical development, RDI® takes the parent and the child through the same processes, thereby helping the child re-learn the pieces he/she missed.  Neurotypical children typically spend 4000+ hours practicing collaboration, communication, and co-regulation with others.  Autistic children missed portions of these experiences and, in some cases, missed out on them entirely. By practicing these things, children are building episodic memory, which they can use later on to help themselves resolve problems. In a sense, you are teaching your child to think, which helps to remediate the core deficits of autism and not just compensate for them.

How is RDI® different?

• RDI® has a series of objectives designed to address the five core deficits of autism, rather than teaching the child discrete skills or compensations. Although we all feel like we have really achieved something when we finally get para support in our child’s IEP, this is actually not helping the autism itself, rather it is helping the child get along in an environment in the least intrusive manner to the rest of the class. As with all things, para support is good in moderation. 

• RDI® is parent-based rather than therapist-based. You do not drive 15 miles to an office three times a week to have your child undergo some secret treatment upon which he/she emerges cured. RDI® is hard work, it takes time and is done in the comfort of your home.
• RDI® can be accomplished in several, short sessions every day. Once you become comfortable with framing activities, opportunities will abound in your environment, which, by the way, is where the child will be expected to spend more time. The best RDI® opportunities can be found in everyday encounters, such as doing dishes and washing clothes.
• RDI® is authentic. Unlike other therapies, RDI® activities help to teach your child how to analyze a situation, formulate a plan, and implement that plan. It does not rely on the memorization of rules or scripts to be able to survive in a variety of settings. Your child is taught how to think his or her way through situations to arrive at just the right solution.
• RDI® is individualized. With the help of the consultant, parents learn to help their child improve. Before work is begun with the child, each parent undergoes a series of parent objectives designed to help them be the best possible guides they can be. Once these are completed, an assessment is done with the child to determine where that child is.

What can you expect?

You must slow down and simplify your life. Remember when you learned to drive? You could not drive and have the radio on at the same time. That is because you were asking your brain to process too much information at the same time, while hurdling down the road at high speeds. Autistic children need more time to process the incoming information. If not given extra time, they will continue to use the coping methods they have developed and the problem will only get worse, not better.

Most children on the autism spectrum are capable of being active participants in the relationships that surround them, as long as they can learn in a gradual, systematic way. Many of us communicate using broadband communication, but didn’t know it was called that. That means that we use more forms of communication than just verbal communication. Autistic children, having failed in these environments before, have avoided most forms of communication other than those that help them get what they want.

To learn a new way to communicate, and to become an active participant in his/her relationships, requires time - not only time to practice, but time to process the new information, time to understand what is being asked, and time to formulate a response.

Parents are the perfect guides for this. Once you establish a relationship with your child based on guided participation, you will begin to see your child interacting with others more often, solving problems by themselves, and becoming interested in something other than being able to recite the batting averages of every baseball player ever (including college and little league teams).

Pre-Requisites

To be involved in RDI® autism treatment, you need to have:

• A diagnosis for your child, educational or medical. If you do not yet have a diagnosis, here are some suggestions for getting your child assessed for autism.
• Daily access to a computer and the internet. You need to be able to view and send video online.
• Access to a digital video camera, as well as the ability to download the video to the computer and then upload the files to your online RDIos® account.

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