RDI® helps autistic individuals build meaningful social connections by developing core skills like flexible thinking, emotional regulation, and joint attention.
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Is Relationship Development Intervention (RDI®) a Behavioral Therapy?
When you first hear about relationship development intervention (RDI®), you might come across outdated or confusing sources labeling it as a behavioral therapy. A quick Google search might suggest...
RDI® foundations with Blair Armstrong
In this webinar from RDIconnect®, RDI® consultant Blair Armstrong talks about critical foundations for the pre-apprentice.
Understanding Nonspeaking Autism: Why This Does NOT Mean Unable to Communicate
When an autistic person does not speak, it is known as nonspeaking autism. Nonspeaking is not a diagnosis. It is the terminology used to describe individuals that communicate through modalities other than spoken words.
Intrinsic Motivation is Possible for Autistic Individuals
It is a common myth that intrinsic motivation is not possible with autism. The great news is that Intrinsic motivation IS obtainable with autism.
Commonly Asked Questions About RDI®
In this webinar, RDI® Certified Consultant Kat Lee and Echo Li, RDI® China correspondent, discuss commonly asked questions about the program.
RDI® is Essential to Everyone
Webinar with Kamini Lahkani: RDI® autism programs are thought of as only for “high functioning” individuals or children. But anyone, no matter their age can benefit from RDI®!
RDI®️️ Myths and Truths
There are a lot of topics that come up about RDI® that are not necessarily what we are all about. So we are here to share some myths and truths about the RDI® Model!
The Basics of Mindful Guiding
The process of Mindful Guiding has two different functions: Support functions and Management functions. Below is a breakdown of each of those functions and how they relate to you, the Mindful Guide.
Talking about Co-Regulation!
Learn how co-regulation improves communication, encourages independence and practical ideas to implement this core concept of parenting at home.
Building the Foundations of Mental Apprentice (and what that means!)
In order to benefit from the MindGuiding relationship the child (apprentice) needs to have formed certain foundations. Here are the five Foundations of a mental apprentice – and how to help lay them.
RDI® Intervention Staging
The RDI Program approaches intervention in the essential areas of teaching, building foundations, and creating growth through problem resolution.
Advocacy and RDI: Scaffolding Towards Independence
We don’t want to throw our children out into the world, with no support whatsoever, but we must help them make their way to independence – gradually, and when they’re ready. Each step must be taken when the child is developmentally and emotionally ready for the next step.
RDIConnect® Guiding Engagements
Mindful Guiding is not conducted in a spontaneous, seat-of manner. Rather, it takes place during guiding engagements.
Promoting Positive Behavior in our Autism Treatments
Problem behavior, typically thought of as “autism behavior”, is both voluntary and involuntary action that autistic children resort to as a coping mechanism in their environment. Positive behavior, signs that your child listens, watches, responds, and eagerly wants to be a part of the learning and growth process is what we encourage in our treatment. Our program is not one of behavior modification, nor are we a textbook program that treats behavior in autism based on age-related standards. We treat behavior as information.
Tips for Virtual RDI® Consulting
Are you working remotely with your child’s autism specialist or consultant? We have some tips to help you get the most out of each session!
Declarative Language Handbook
Using a Thoughtful Language Style to Help Kids with Social Learning Challenges Feel Competent, Connected and Understood!
The Power of Episodic Memory in Autism Part 2
Without the ability to learn from your past experiences and use your episodic memory to make choices, you can become rigid and inflexible and nonfunctional.
The Power of Episodic Memory in Autism
Welcome to our series on The Power of Episodic Memory in Autism. This is part one of a three part series written by Certified RDI® consultants Sharon Bradbrook-Armit and Kathy Darrow. You can read...
Mental Challenge and Growth
What constitutes a mental challenge is subjective, but typically it happens when we’re faced with a situation we can’t figure out by looking back on our previous experiences – but the situation is also not too overwhelming.
All About RDI®
RDI® has often been called the missing piece of the puzzle in treating ASD because we don’t try to whitewash symptoms, but go to the heart of the problem and offer solutions that will improve your family’s quality of life.
Recover, Restore, Understand
With Relationship Development Intervention, our consultants help parents move from the difficulty of diagnosis and gain the tools to become an effective guide to your child.
Why RDI® Emphasizes the Guiding Relationship
When infants who go on to be diagnosed with autism do not contribute sufficient energy to their relationship, parents, no matter how motivated or proficient they are, are unable to guide and their relationship cannot develop in a normal manner. The Guiding Relationship helps a child develop the tools that will carry them through their life. RDI® helps to re-establish this relationship.
MindGuiding Develops the Brain!
At RDIconnect, our programs focus on rebuilding the brain’s neural pathways that have disrupted the naturally occurring parent-child Guiding Relationship, which opens the door to learning!
Mindful Parenting
The following video clip is from a recent planned engagement.
Obstacles to Guiding
What challenges are normal when it comes to Guiding your child with autism? Certified RDI® Consultant Kat Lee shares her insight in this webinar.
Self-Regulation and RDI®
Self-regulation is important not only for your child, but for you, too! The following tips can help adults and children self regulate.
Why Failure Helps Children to Become Independent
In truth, doesn’t the lack of practice at bouncing back from failure (in children on the autism spectrum) actually increase emotional fragility and decrease resilience?
The Importance of Declarative Language
Mindfully using declarative language for better communication!
Slowing Down in Autism Treatment
You have permission to slow down!
Episodic Memory Part 3
We can help our children become on-line problem solvers by including them in our own problem solving opportunities day-to-day, when there is no crisis around events that are not emotionally charged.
Co-Regulation: An Example
Keep practicing… at home, at the shopping mall, the beachfront…. wherever we are!
Episodic Memory Part 2
We try so hard to get information from autistic children. Sometimes we get it, sometimes we don’t, and even when we do get an answer to our question, we are not getting at what we truly want to know. Don’t we instead want to know how the child felt throughout the day? What made the child smile or laugh? About connections the child shared with their friends? We want more than a one word answer, but don’t know how to get it. One thing is clear though: imperative questions and statements do not get at the heart of what we all use memories to do: share who we are!
Episodic Memory Part 1
Memory is important for everyone in terms of learning, growing and managing more complex social and emotional situations in life.
We use our memories to build and strengthen relationships, to reflect on what we’ve done in order to make plans for the future, and to problem solve based on past experiences.
If we didn’t have memories to draw from, we would hardly move forward in life. Developing meaningful memories is a critical skill for all people including children with autism.
Slowly Adding Challenge
Regulatory patterns form the basis of what we try to establish with the work that we do with our families. But it is not about routinely instructing or telling the child what to do where this baseline pattern is concerned. There are many elements that need to be factored in while a family attempts to establish a pattern.
RDI®: Treating Autism through Everyday activities
Here are some simple ways to incorporate RDI into everyday life right now!
Setting up the Most Effective Program for Our Children
It took me years to learn that it’s easy to make a child ‘do something’. The difficulty lies in awakening the spirit in them to want to do things on their own.
How to Teach Your Child to Learn by Himself
This real-world example shows why the Mind Guiding relationship is essential for activating growth-seeking.
Co-regulation: The Bridge to Communication
Co regulation is the simplest form or the prototype of communication.
Slowing Down with RDI
One family’s story on how slowing down, helped them to speed up.
RDI® Consultants Bring Hope
It’s easy to give up after an autism diagnosis. Here is one parent’s story of how RDI® gave them back hope.
As an RDI® Consultant, I Empower Parents
A lot of parents don’t realize that they have power to help their own kids.
Mindfulness
I want to be present in my life. I want to actually experience it, the good and even the bad. I want to learn and not repeat mistakes. I want to actually be a part of the good things that happen, really being in it and really feeling the feels. This is a mindset known as mindfulness.
The Mission Preview: Envisioning Your Family’s Future
In RDI parents are given the hefty task of imagining their family life in 5 years, 10 years.
RDI®: Going Slow
Mindful parenting sounds so easy, however, it is hard work and takes a long time to master.