RDIconnect® Blog
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Spreading the News of RDI® in Spanish!
Claudia Perez Andreessen, the director of professional training in Mexico, is continuing to spread the news of RDI® in Spanish throughout Latin America!
Typical Development and the Infant Divergence
Dr. Rachelle Sheely talks about what research into typical development has taught us about autism.
The Importance of Declarative Language
Mindfully using declarative language for better communication!
Celebrating Fathers Around the World
One of the most common concerns we hear from mothers of special needs children…
Helping Your Child Pursue Independence
Your child has immense capacity for absorbing information. But he doesn’t know how to use it or make sense of it. Sensory sensitivities make things even more difficult. But I have good news for you. You can connect the dots for your child. You can help him make sense of the world. You, the parent, have an important role to play.
Hope for Children of ALL Ages
Is there a time when treatment for autism is no longer viable?
The Many Meanings of “NO”
What are they really trying to tell you when they say “no”?
Slowing Down in Autism Treatment
You have permission to slow down!
How this Mother Built an Incredible Bond With Her Child and Discovered His Potential
Discover your inner truths as a mother.
Increasing Dynamic Intelligence for Growth
Giving our children the opportunity for growth
Dynamic Intelligence in Autism Treatment
How does Dynamic Intelligence help in treating autism?
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.
Are You an Autism Parent Experiencing Caregiver Burnout?
Slowing down gives you a chance to be mindful and to let go of the chaos and hectic lifestyle of most autism therapies.
Co-Regulation: An Example
Keep practicing… at home, at the shopping mall, the beachfront…. wherever we are!
To Make Your Child With Autism Thrive, You Must Do This First
To every mother who wants to wants to live a happier and healthier life – it’s never too late.
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!
RDI® Made My Family a Real Team
RDI brought this family back together.
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.
What Makes Individuals with Autism Feel Stressed?
Why is your child acting out? Is it stress?
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.
Does Your Child’s Stimming Worry You?
Stimming is not the enemy. The enemy is how we view it.
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...
Mental Exercises to Grow Dynamic Intelligence
Dynamic Intelligence is the most sophisticated part of our neural and mental ‘operating system’.
Why It’s Time to Stop Teaching ‘Right and Wrong’ to Your Child
This guest blog post was originally published on the saiconnections blog page. You can read the original here. Three friends show up at your door to surprise you. It’s dinner time. You haven’t...
This is Better Than Eye Contact For Your Child
Of course, you want your child to look at you. But have you thought how it feels for him?
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…..”
Framing through Holiday Activities
Celebrate the Holidays RDI® style with Kat Lee.
Stuck With Monotonous Answers From Your Child? Try These 5 Steps
Declarative communication can be verbal or non verbal. It is the opposite of imperative communication, which demands answers to questions.
With declarative communication a response is neither expected nor required. It’s okay if your child doesn’t respond to your declarative statement. For example: if you stated “These oranges are sweet.”, we would not expect a reciprocal statement.
Holidays and Anxiety
The holiday season is upon us and although this time of the year is fun and full of magic for many of our families, when you have a child with autism the extra chaos and noise can often become...
Autism Spectrum Disorders: How to do Less And Achieve More
Is he hyperactive? Does he lack eye contact, show limited speech, poor motor skills, difficulties with social interaction, crying spells, sleeping problems, or other health issues?
Accept and Believe in Your Child
Accept and Believe in your child. We all know what critical looks and sounds like.
Dynamic Intelligence is Dependent on Challenge
What is Dynamic Intelligence? In a nutshell, it is the mental ability that enables humans to successfully navigate the world and our relationships. Because life is full of dramatic upheavals,...
4 Simple Steps to Build Life Skills in Your Child
Dynamic focuses on problem solving, thinking, flexibility, where there are several solutions to a single problem.
This Concept Will Challenge Everything You’ve Learned About Autism
Static thinking will take your child through school. But dynamic thinking will take your child through life.
The Hope of Happiness for Those with Autism
An RDI® Guide to Happiness
Keeping it Simple
Thinking up planned engagements doesn’t have to be hard work.
Letters Between a Non Speaking Autistic and Apraxic Boy and His Neurotypical Therapist
Alfonso is non-speaking, but he has a lot to say. The world needs to listen and learn from this young man’s wise and whole-hearted way of living.
The Great Divide in Autism Treatment
This week, Dr. Gutstein explains the divide existing between autism research and clinical intervention.
Are You Stealing Your Child’s Thinking?
Changing our style of teaching children with autism from ‘static’ to ‘dynamic’ uses activities that require the child to ‘think’ his way to a solution.
Frames of Reference in Autism
I think that this may be the first time I have truly (TRULY) understood how difficult it is for people with autism to understand the social-emotional world. And how utterly effortless it is for others.
Proactive Pausing
Learning to pause gives our children the time to think of what to do, instead of being told what to do.
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.
Entertaining Your Autistic Child
It’s the ‘easiest’ way to live with your child in the short term. You take him out and do the things he likes as you try to avoid him stimming, nagging or even throwing tantrums. Life then develops a pattern, where any time parent and child have together is spent doing entertaining activities because the child is ‘happy’ and it causes less conflict. But take a minute to ask yourself: “What is my child is getting out of these experiences?”
Partnering with Your Child
For some parents, a partnership – where both parties have authentic roles in a meaningful task, activity, or project – with their child may come naturally, for others, it may feel challenging at first. I encourage you to partner with your child at least 10 times per day, everyday. It will get easier and you can start out small and always build on your successes in length of time you are partnering or ways in which you partner.