SUCCESS STORIES
This past year has seen us slowing down, reflecting more, simplifying and prioritising, focusing on what is truly important and removing some of the complications in our lives. We have become more mindful of our daily interactions, of our language - both verbal and non-verbal and the quality of our family life has improved significantly. My husband and I, our family and Kyle's teachers and friends have all commented on and noticed a change in his behaviour. He has significantly fewer meltdowns, is happier, less angry, more flexible, more capable of dealing with changes in his routine, becoming more independent and is showing some exciting examples of thinking in a more dynamic manner.
Nikki & Kevin ~ South Africa
Think Autism has exceeded our expectations by walking alongside us in the autism journey, understanding us and encouraging us to help ourselves. It also helps to manage our expectations of ourselves and Sebastian and to look on the bright side. It's hard to explain but Elisa just "gets it" and is incredibly supportive and non-judgmental. Her knowledge of autism, psychology and general mindfulness is really helpful. RDI® in general is just so intuitive and right, I love the approach and I love working with Elisa. It has been such a fundamental transformation for our family and for Sebastian. It has given me hope for the future!
Jenni & Cristian ~Cambridge
Before we started RDI®, Ellen spent a lot of time in her room, wasn’t interested in being sociable and hadn’t developed any non-screen hobbies. Since I’ve been doing the programme lots of people have noticed how much Ellen has ‘come out of her shell’ as they call it – but it’s really that she’s much more engaged in the world. She will spontaneously seek us out to interact with us and is much more able and willing to communicate her feelings. A big one for me is that her stress levels have significantly reduced. She hated the unfamiliar, and holidays in particular but now she is much more able to cope with dynamic situations – so much so that we are planning a safari in South Africa for her 21st!
I like working with Elisa because she's very approachable and relaxed, encouraging and a bit tougher when we need her to need to be! She also has a very natural way with children/young people and nothing seems to phase her.
Abby & Richard ~ Hertfordshire
Since starting RDI® a year ago M has made so much progress. She is more flexible and much less anxious. She is becoming more robust to making mistakes and things not going according to plan. She is developing her 'episodic memory' - the ability to use her past experiences to help her deal with problems and new situations. She often now looks back and sees the funny side of things that used to really upset her and shares these emotions with us. She has also made big strides socially and is thriving at school having formed a group of friends that she loves to spend time with. As a family we are more relaxed overall and are learning to slow things down and take time to enjoy the moment, and to have a positive and hopeful attitude towards the future.
We would recommend RDI® with Elisa to any family who want to invest the time and effort in achieving long term progress and better quality of life for their children with autism.
Anne & Adam ~ Devon
Elisa is a warm, caring, extremely diligent and strategic professional who truly understands autism, from the perspective of both carers and autistic individuals. Every consultation we have had she makes very specific recommendations and gives you a solid plan of action. She also has fantastic insight - she understands the "why" and communicates it very well. I have also had the pleasure of watching her interact with my son - you can tell in a moment that she knows exactly what she is doing and see yourself how the RDI approach as she implements it really works. We love working with her, she's a gem of a therapist. Highly recommended!
Katie ~ St Albans
Dominic now does things that he never really did before; his own communication is getting better and we see a real enjoyment in it for him which wasn't really there before. He always enjoyed rough and tumble type activities but it always had to be on his terms and turn taking wasn't something he could cope with. Now he loves to play board games, WII sports, hide and seek, all kinds of games that involve interaction with others. He also likes to just chat about things that happen and its real experience sharing now, not just a means of getting what he wants. Friends who see him now always comment on it which is such a boost for us.
Jane ~ Poole
Just to let you know my TA came back from your two day training full of beans and knowledge about Autism last week. She gained such a lot! Thank you.
~Bishop Creighton School ~
Your workshop was very helpful and we tried a few things in group along with the parents and both practitioners and parents were amazed how much more speech and connection there was............. so good :)"
~ Bubbly Bugs ~
The training is applicable to all levels of experience/ expertise and to children with and without autistic traits."
~ Family Action~
It's the best training I've been on, it is a practical approach, not just useless theory!
~ Beeches School~
Elisa is an empathetic, insightful, and highly attuned person whom we had the pleasure to consult with by telephone about our 16 year old son. My husband and I found it instantly easy to talk to her openly and candidly about a complicated and sensitive situation.
My son began school refusing aged 10 at which time we had a one-off consultation with a CAMHS advisor which was unhelpful and inappropriate. We continued to actively seek help over the next year or so and consulted many (many) different private therapists, counsellors, clinical child psychotherapists, an educational psychologist, and last resort a child psychiatrist. Each of these negative, deflating, and depressing experiences put us off seeking any form of therapy or support for life. I can’t begin to think how many thousands of hours and pounds we have spent investing in utterly useless and disparaging conversations and more anxiety than we started with.
Elisa changed that opinion in an instant.
She warmly and objectively validated our concerns and rationale without the usual element of ‘parents-have-no-clue’ contempt we’d grown accustomed to in the past. An absolute breath of fresh air.
Elisa honestly ticks all of the boxes which is a significantly tall order when you consider the string of negative ‘therapy’ experiences we have behind us, not excluding highly unhelpful social welfare interventions and a history of 7 private schools in our wake.
Elisa is genuinely a truly lovely person. You will only have to explain yourself once as she understands concepts and complicated detail instantly. Recounting long and involved historical events is utterly exhausting for parents (and par for the course) so having a therapist that ‘get’s it’ straightway is part of the battle and a crucial quality.
Emma
"We have really enjoyed working with Elisa over the past year. Our knowledge has increased and we now have lots more tools to guide our child. It has been exciting and continues to be as we watch our child's development and being able to experience our child making discoveries and grow each day. Being able to mindfully provide the experience opportunities for this to happen is empowering and getting to see it move over from the parent child relationship into school and peer relationships is beautiful. We are much further on from when we started RDI and are confident that we will continue to progress and be even further ahead this time next year. It is reassuring to know that our child doesn't need to miss out on this development, we have the opportunity to adapt our style of communication and provide opportunities for our child to make these developmental discoveries. Elisa is an exceptional guide and we love that RDI is a collaborative process that takes account of individual circumstances and provides a tailored approach."
Lynnette and Graham ~ Buckinghamshire
RDI with Elisa has made a huge difference in our lives. Most importantly I have changed. Before I started RDI I kept thinking I need my son to be like any other normal typical developing toddler. However my perspective and attitude towards my son has completely changed and this journey has been about learning about myself and how my sons needs are different. Elisa is very creative and understands every single issue I have had. What I love the most is how honest Elisa is in how to help, RDI is a journey that a family takes together to understand autism and how to help the individual and us parents as guides. I have been working with Elisa for 6 months now and can’t wait to continue to work with Elisa. She is very flexible and understanding and will point you in the right direction. My communication with my son has changed and changed for the better. My son is 3 and non verbal and he still is non verbal and I know before I would be one of them mothers who would think ‘I must find a cure’ but now I can say I have seen the bigger picture which is the beautiful relationship I share with my son. Thank you Elisa for all your support u truly are an amazing consultant!
Fathima ~ Birmingham
I have been having monthly clinical supervision with Elisa for more than 2 years. I initially approached her for this purpose because of her knowledge and expertise in the field of Autism, as I was looking for support with one of my cases, and also in need of a supervisor. Two birds, one stone…
What I found was so much more than I expected. Elisa is not only knowledgeable in her area of specialty, but she is a kind, thoughtful, supportive, non-judgemental professional, who has provided a safe and secure space for me to process, off-load, learn, and develop my own professional abilities. Elisa always has to hand a supply of appropriate resources to support any issues I might raise. There has never been a time or an issue that I have felt that I could not bring into our discussions. Having these characteristics in the person fulfilling this role, taking this responsibility, is mandatory; non-negotiable, and I am extremely appreciative that I have found them here.
Barbara Wolfe ~ Cambridge
When I first found out about the RDI approach I was indeed in a very difficult place in my relationship with my son. He is an adult with a dual diagnosis of DS and ASD. We barely managed a day without extreme reactions to different expectations about communication and problem solving in our daily lives. Thanks to the support from Elisa and the RDI approach I learned, we are so much closer now and I have gained a much better understanding of what Autism is due to the course of thinkautic . The knowledge I gained is invaluable and hopefully we will continue learn.