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The Evolution of RDI®

The RDI® Program is:

• a parent-based intervention program where parents are provided the tools to effectively teach Dynamic Intelligence skills and motivation to their child.
• about the joy in connecting: a path for people on the autism spectrum to learn friendship, empathy, and a love of sharing their world and experiences with others.
• about changing neurology: a way for people on the spectrum to become flexible thinkers and creative problem solvers who enjoy the challenges of change and who desire to expand their world.
• based on over 20 years of research by world's experts on typical development as well as scientific studies on people with autism.
• developmental & systematic: a step-by-step program that focuses first on building the motivations so that skills will be used & generalized; followed by carefully and systematically building the skills for competence and fulfillment in a complex world.
• realistic: a program that can be started easily, and implemented seamlessly into regular, day-to-day activities to enrich the life of the whole family.
• precise: a method that measures and begins at the edge of each person's capability and then carefully but continually raises the bar.

Why do parents like the RDI® Program?

Parents have told us they like the RDI™ Program because it is:

• Systematic but flexible
• Developmental
• Empowering
• Balancing and "Normalizing"
• Easy to carry over into everyday life
• Structured, with an emphasis on video-taped feedback and both professional and parent "peer" support.

• Systematic but flexible:
  Parents find that having access to a comprehensive set of step-by-step objectives which they can use in everday life is critical in rendering the program "user-friendly." Parents also gain the confidence they can carry out the RDI® Program without extensive involvement of therapists.
  
  Parents also prefer elements of the program that allow them, with their professional Consultant's guidance, to customize their style of involvement, communication, activities, scheduled intervention periods and settings based on the unique needs of their child and family.
  
• Developmental:
  Teaching parents to focus on the child's current developmental functioning breaks the cycle of failure and feelings of inadequacy for both parents and child.
  
  Setting careful, developmentally appropriate objectives gives parents and children permission to focus on skills that can realistically be attained, knowing that these simpler successes are laying the foundation for eventual competence in more complex areas.

The RDI® Program breaks the cycle of failure for both parent and the child.

• Empowering:
  Parents recognize that the RDI® Program is not teaching them to be a therapist, but rather providing a means to more effectively guide their child's development. Many parents tell us that the RDI® Program has helped them to feel like a competent parent for the first time.
  
  Once they have mastered the first few stages of the program, children begin to take on more responsibility for monitoring and regulating their actions in various settings. Parents and teachers report that after children in the RDI® Program had mastered social referencing (the second of twenty-six RDI® stages) they were no longer forced to constantly prompt and direct the child.
  
  Finally, families reported that the RDI® Program model made it easier for both parents, but especially fathers, to participate and to accrue the benefits described above.
  
• Balancing and "Normalizing":
  After several months of doing the RDI® Program parents report that everyday life becomes less stressful and more enjoyable for everyone in the family. Siblings do not feel excluded or neglected. Parents can move out of a state of "permanent crisis" and resume a more normal life again.
  
• Easy to carry over into daily life
  Parents are unanimous in praising the help they receive to translate program components into their daily lives. Elements of the program such as emphasizing experience-sharing and non-verbal communication, practicing coordinated actions in everyday settings and creating opportunities for "productive uncertainty," so essential for the development of Social Referencing, are incorporated into the family's lifestyle. Once embraced, these elements enhance the well-being of all family members and so become easy to sustain.
  
• Structured, with an emphasis on video-taped feedback and both professional and parent "peer" support:
  Parents report that the discipline of preparing and editing video segments helps them to allocate time for reflection and review of their communication and interaction with their child.
  
  Parents new to the RDI® Program receive important psychological support from their more experienced counterparts who are willing to share their own experiences and knowledge through videos, specially constructed Internet message boards, chat rooms and appearances at parent training workshops.

The RDI® Program translates into day-to-day activities, so the whole family benefits.

"Chris preferred to play in other's presence using his own agenda. When interacting with adults he wouldn't ask for responses or feedback, he would just tell a story or anecdote from start to finish.

Last year he would have watched the kids play, but would not have tried to join in, nor would he have been able to follow the fast-paced play of his peers. His initial response to stress was to withdraw and hide. Now he gets excited when he sees other kids. More play with his main buddies at school.

There has been a great improvement in social referencing. He is initiating joint attention all the time. He is more concerned with my feelings. He has acquired the desire to learn new things. He really gets along with his sister and actually plays really coordinated games for long periods of time with her."

Chris, age 8, New York

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The Evolution of RDI®