July 4th can be a difficult holiday for anyone with sensory struggles, especially noise sensitivities. The fireworks, the crowds, the noise, the change in routine can all trigger an autistic child, teen or adult and can cause anxiety, stress or meltdowns. But there are ways that you can help your child or loved one minimize their stress!
Benefits of Free Time for Kids
Your child learns and develops from planned activities, but with a balance of free time, space is given for your child to naturally develop the motivation to learn.
Emotion Sharing Activities
Activities that can help you and your autistic child build a connection with one another, share emotion and promote social engagement.
RDIConnect® Guiding Engagements
Mindful Guiding is not conducted in a spontaneous, seat-of manner. Rather, it takes place during guiding engagements.
Activities for Autistic Children
You can use your imagination as the parent guide and erase any thoughts or burdens you may have perceived as limitations. There are countless activities you can plan that help reach the goals and dreams that you have for your child’s mental growth and development.
RDI At Home: Playing Catch with Dad
A dad and his little girl are playing catch, she moves from a simple back and forth play routine into a different kind of play as she introduces a request for fought and tumble.Watch...
RDI At Home: Stacking Cups
It’s Thursday—like no Thursday we’ve ever known. Parents who are mindful guides help children manage difficult times. This is a video that shares the problems a mother encounters as her...
RDI At Home: A Reciprocal Pattern
It’s Wednesday—like no Wednesday we’ve ever known.Another parent gives insight into daily life and the building of her guiding relationship with her son. This is what to look for—the...
RDI At Home: Dancing
It’s Tuesday—like no Tuesday we’ve ever known.There are two parts to this video. The mother submitted this to show the qualitative when dancing is a task and dancing is the experience of...
RDI At Home: Making Cookies
The following was submitted by an RDI Parent"This is Mom and Zayd...To help manage the stress of the pandemic we have been doing many daily mundane activities with RDI in mind.This one...
RDI At Home: Setting Up the Grill
It’s Tuesday—like no Tuesday we’ve ever known.Today’s video spotlights perseverance, thinking and resilience.Watch this child figure out how to put a grill together.A first look suggests...
RDI At Home: Variations on the Game of War
It’s Monday—like no Monday we’ve ever known.In response to quarantine and isolation, RDI families and consultants are sharing videos of themselves working and playing with their...
RDI At Home: Eating with Mommy
It’s Sunday—like no Sunday we’ve ever known. We discuss how our children become good apprentices and we also want to acknowledge how are parents become master guides. Watch the subtle...
RDI At Home: Master Chef
It’s Saturday—like no Saturday we’ve ever known.Watch this Masterchef juggle more than one dish at a time. His Consultant Kamini Lakhani, RDI Trainer for India, writes: We discovered...
RDI At Home: Monster Walk
It’s Friday—like no Friday we’ve ever known.Feeling cooped up, lacking energy, need to exercise? Grab a child and do the Monster Walk. I won’t ruin it with too many details but do take...
RDI At Home: Dancing Bollywood Style
It’s Tuesday—like no Tuesday we’ve ever known.I dare you to sit quietly and observe this video. UM Hm, that’s what I thought.Join this father as he teaches his son Bollywood dancing. You...
RDI At Home: Sharing Perspectives/Smelling Together
It’s Monday—like no Monday we’ve ever known.There are some very obvious differences in capabilities when a child has autism. Most striking is the inability to understand the perspective...
RDI At Home: Making Clothes for Dress Up
You will feel the warmth in your heart as this mother and son construct a vest for him and a matching one for his teddy bear. It’s a happy video but to be honest, I find that the tenderness between...
RDI At Home: Build a Castle
RDI is about thinking and cognitive development. If I ask you “What is your idea?” you may struggle to come up with something or even ask, “about?". But, in a different way what if I tell you “This...
RDI At Home: Making Juice
Parents often ask for ways to work on referencing facial expression tone of voice and body language because their child might have language but is missing these important elements for conversation....
RDI At Home: Drawing with Mom
It’s Tuesday—like no Tuesday we’ve ever known. A lovely, low-key example of using an every day experience to work on perspective taking. "The children are all home- due to the lock down."Look at how...
RDI At Home: Cutting Veggies -Set Pattern to Achieve Joint Coordination
It’s Sunday—like no Sunday we’ve ever known. Dr. Dhanashri, a consultant from India shows the power of an every day regulatory pattern as a backdrop for growing a child’s mind. Notice the attention...
RDI At Home: Setting the Table
It’s Saturday—like no Saturday we’ve ever known. A principle of RDI is that parents of children on the spectrum know how to guide their children—RDI simply helps them develop the desire for guiding...
RDI At Home: Glove Experiment
It’s Wednesday—like no Wednesday we’ve ever known. Get ready to hold your breath. This mother, an expert guide, shares a simple science experience with every day kitchen ingredients. I found myself...
RDI At Home: Make a Funny Face
It’s Monday—like no Monday we’ve ever known. As you watch this, video you will be struck by its simplicity and far reaching impact on a young child’s ability to share experiences and enjoy non...
RDI At Home: Pouring Water
It’s Saturday—like no Saturday we’ve ever known. In this lovely little video you will see a mother and her son enjoying a simple activity of pouring water. Pay attention to the child’s attention. He...
RDI At Home: Build a Go-Kart
It’s Friday—like no Friday we’ve ever known. Before he was old enough to drive, Nick dreamed of owning a go-cart that he could drive around the streets of Houston. This project, conceived,...
RDI At Home: Sharing Facial Expressions and Chips
It’s Thursday—like no Thursday we’ve ever known. In this video, you will find yourself smiling as this mother, an expert guide, shares not only facial expression but enjoys a teasing relationship...
RDI At Home: Learning to Play Ball
It’s Tuesday—like no Tuesday we’ve ever known. There are many wonderful RDI moments as this little boy learns to play ball. In the beginning his mother picks up the ball when it strays. But, quickly...
RDI At Home: Gardening as a Pastime
It’s Sunday—like no Sunday we’ve ever known. This is a bird’s eye view of the Guiding Relationship between a grandfather and grandson. Note the child’s observation of his grandfather and his...
RDI At Home: Working as a Team
It’s Saturday—like no Saturday we’ve ever known. Like many of you I am experiencing the cabin fever associated with quarantine, curfews and isolation. An RDI Consultant in Training, Sheila He...
RDI At Home: Change
It’s Friday—like no Friday we’ve ever known. Every now and again we are privileged to observe a rare and beautiful talent. This video, by a very creative young lady, describes the importance of...
RDI At Home: Virtual Hike
It’s Wednesday—like no Wednesday we’ve ever known. Taking the perspective of another person is a difficult milestone for our children. Because of the current self quarantine and social distancing,...
RDI At Home: Cleaning Up Blocks
It’s Tuesday, like no Tuesday we’ve every known. This little activity lends itself to variations that may come to you only as you try it out. Looking for more? We are throwing open our doors, we are...
RDI At Home: Coordinated Dinner
It’s Monday—like no Monday we’ve ever known. You are home and it’s time for dinner. Turn it into an RDI moment with Nick and his mom. Watch this duo coordinate their actions to work on a casserole....
RDI At Home: Pizza Fridays
It’s Friday, like no Friday we’ve ever known. Time for Pizza! You will find yourself smiling as this father and son try to figure out what each other wants to put on the pizza. Notice the pacing and...
RDI At Home: Planting Seeds
It’s Thursday—like no Thursday we’ve ever known. Join Kathy Darrow and plan for a summer harvest. If you don’t have seed packets readily available, cut open fruit or vegetables from the refrigerator...
RDI At Home: Dance! Dance! Dance!
It’s Wednesday—like no Wednesday we’ve every known. We are working from home. We are playing as we work. This is a video of Charlee at her dance recital. It’s quite beautiful. We are spotlighting...
RDI®: Treating Autism through Everyday activities
Here are some simple ways to incorporate RDI into everyday life right now!
Engagement Activities to Guide Your Teenager
Unlike many other autism treatments available today, we believe that there is no age limit to the brain's ability to continue changing! We see a many families come into the program with teenagers...
The Cook’s Assistant
Nick is going through a stubborn teenager phrase. He only wants to do what he wants to do. When invited to join me in some form of interaction, he makes the sign for ‘finished’ quicker than you can say, “let’s…..”
Laughing with RDI
Give a boy a water pistol and he knows exactly what to do with it! Not so with my Nick.
19 Activities to Do with Your Teenager
Here are 19 activities you can do right away with your teenager:
68 Activities to Do with Your Child
Looking for RDI activities? Look no further!
Sink or Swim; This is Really About Swimming
Nowhere but the water is it more apparent when one person knows what they are doing and the other does not.
