Emma from Tonbridge

One of the biggest things I like about RDI is that it seems so logical to try to revisit the developmental stages of typically developing children and to try to help our autistic children to put these in place in the correct developmental order.

RDI gives you a deeper and clearer understanding of what your child's autism means and the steps you can take to try to help them overcome their difficulties. The RDI Learning System has a huge amount of useful information so you can educate yourself in the best way of helping your child.

We have noticed big changes in flexibility and resilience when things do not go exactly to plan. We have noticed much more language - both requests and commenting - so he is now motivated to communicate with us for communications sake and not just for his needs - lots of people have noticed this. We feel that this life will be ongoing and therefore we need to view RDI as a longterm way of living and learning. 

Lucinda Muschialli from East Sussex

Since Leo has started the RDI program a year ago we have seen a huge improvement in socialisation, communication and awareness. He is much more willing to communicate with us now and if he is enjoying something he will take us by the hand to show us, genuine experience-sharing communication. By breaking down the development of typical communication into lots of tiny stages we are able to 're-teach' Leo. We used Leo's love of numbers and letters as a bit of a 'way in' for him, for example we taught him to play catch by spelling words. Leo finds the activities really enjoyable and it is much easier to engage him now.

Having Elisa as a consultant is great as she can advise on ways to frame activities for Leo and support when we are stuck on an objective. Her feedback from the video footage is so useful and really helps us to know where and how we could make and activity more successful. The objectives that Leo has mastered have led to real improvements in his awareness of his environment. He has just had his first day at school and loved it, he went in so happily and interacted brilliantly with the teachers, and I am positive that this wouldn't have been nearly as successful if we hadn't done RDI.

The other advantage of RDI is that it is not overly time consuming. We have four boys so are so busy! But we have never felt that the other children felt excluded from RDI - in fact they often wanted to do the activities as well! RDI has given us such an in-depth understanding of autism and how we can help, and so many people have commented about what great progress Leo is making.

Anonymous

Can't say that we are any less scheduled !! But our activities are increasingly those based on singing, music, walking, shopping, etc. It is a revelation to see that our child can actually help change the wheel when we had a puncture, stay on task and 'with us' for long enough to help hang out washing, pick apples as a 'guided partner' help with sorting out cupboards and things out at home. There is less resistance to doing undesired activities. Increase in language, being in synch with us and other, more amenable to ideas, greater flexibility, more give and take, less on a fixed agenda.

The clinching point for us was its analytical, research-based approach, the science behind it, if you will. The fact that the psychological development of the child has been analysed so as to pinpoint the stages of development typical children go through but on which ASD children miss out and how to work through those missed opportunities with them. I think Dr Gutstein's assertion is also spot on: the dynamic, flexible thinking which our children lack is the main barrier to their passport to an independent future. Again, the Science behind RDI and the fact that even children with great difficulties are able to increase their eye contact, their relating to people, understanding gestures and non-verbal communication. We know that although our child is bright and has lots of skills he has huge deficits in these areas and RDI is helping to fix that.

Our expectations are being met and exceeded in some areas. There is overspill from RDI into different areas of our child's life, especially in relating to others outside the family. We see our child making more of an effort to become independent, to want to repair relationships and breakdowns in communication. He wants to feel like more of an equal partner, contributing to the relationship. The support and understanding from our consultant is second to none; she is able to demonstrate clearly what you are trying to aim for and ways around potential problems. She shows flexibility and takes on board your own ideas and thoughts. This, combined with the RDI Learning System means you always have a backstop if you get stuck!

I think it is demanding and hard work and parents have to be aware of this but I think the key advantages it has over other methods are:

1 Its structured approach- tracing the relationship and communication skills and patterns through which typical children learn.

2 Its basis of flexible thinking as opposed to instructional type learning, focusing more on your child learning from you as a guide and being in synch with you.

3 Its focus on learning how to cope in a dynamic, ever-changing environment- these are key skills anyone needs to cope with in our rapidly-changing world, whether they be constrained by a disability or not.

Paul Trotman

Family maths has changed completely.  We spend so much more time together. We can't wait to spend time with the children doing different things and sharing new experiences. Many people from teachers to relatives have noticed how much more independent he is.  He is a proper thinker now.  He no longer just does what we ask him to do, he thinks about better ways to do it, or short cuts, or alternatives.  He thinks about everything he does - today we got ready to goto the park and he brought a jumper with him just in case it got cold later on.

We just thought he was in a good place for something new - do develop himself as a thinker.  We are so glad we did. We always want to look for things we think will help him learn and keep moving in a good direction.  RDI really appealed to us because it seemed to focus on the ability to socialise and develop thinking skills.  We felt these were areas we needed help with.So far, we are really pleased.  RDI feels right to us and for him. 

He keeps doing things now that he hasn't been taught to do, but that he has worked out for himself.  He is trusting his own thought processes instead of relying on instruction from others, or pre-learned skills and processes.

The support has been excellent, the contact is frequent and always there when we are stuck with something or ready to move on with a new objective. After doing many different kinds of therapy and techniques etc.. we feel that we finally have a long-term plan in place for Luke which involves the whole family, is extremely natural, is nurturing rather than coersive, gentle yet focussed, and above all 'feels right' for Luke.

David and Kathryn

Through the RDI programme we have gained a fascinating insight into the process of learning and the importance of the structure of interaction.  As we have applied the principles it has become apparent how many seemingly everyday activities present opportunities for learning interaction.

We frequently see in Matthew real glimpses of engagement, and often great enjoyment, during periods of interaction; especially when we challenge him for more involvement.  We have seen Matthew do things since starting RDI that we have not seen him do before and give us great encouragement to continue seeking interaction opportunities.

Elisa has provided great support in introducing the concepts of RDI as well as providing a general ear to some of the problems associated with bringing up a child with Autism.