What is RDI?

What is RDI click here RDI in school click here Wondering if the RDI program is a good fit?  Click here Relationship Development Intervention is based on the Model of typical development.   This affords children with Autism the same chance at a redo in their development as their peers without Autism. An example of this is- typically developing children develop resilience and the ability to manage uncertainty in the first year of their life. Building on motivation, helping a child feel competent and not only to manage uncertainty but to embrace it is part of the foundations of RDI. This opportunity for a second chance is rooted in Guided participation, which is how we all learned from our parents, and how society passes knowledge onto children who do not have any obstacles preventing them from accepting guidance. ( A book on this topic is apprenticeship in thinking by Barbara Rogoff.) RDI is a precise systemic program for guiding, broken down with...

Think about your last job interview.   What were some of the questions?   Did they include questions like, How well do you work in a team?   Or what are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?   Do you get along with people?   Why should I hire you? These are all very open ended questions.   In today’s world, more than ever, employers are looking for flexibility,   creativity, problem solving skills, and an overall ability to share perspectives when looking at a task at hand. Within the   Autism community,   we know that these very abilities that employers are looking for , are what our kids struggle with if not addressed.   Wanted to throw some thoughts out after reading this article- http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/autistic-young-adults-lack-jobs-education-16340317 For my own two children who were diagnosed with Autism, both before the age of 3,   this was my wakeup call 7 years ago.   My oldest was just about...

Guest blogger Dr Gutstein- The Family Consultation Program (FCP): Frequently Asked Questions "I believe that these children present a challenge and opportunity for all of us. The challenge they present is to understand and appreciate the thousands of elegant small steps it takes to turn a small infant into a fully competent adult human being. The opportunity is the permission we are given when we are privileged to function as Guides, to slow our pace and  admire the daily miracles of development.”  -  Dr. Steven Gutstein, 2006 What is the Family Consultation Program? The RDI Family Consultation Program was designed to help families restore the natural "Guiding Relationship" when it has been disrupted or has failed to develop. Parents work with a trained RDI Family Consultant to harness the immense potential residing within each family. The goal is to to provide parents with tools and the knowledge of how best to use these tools function as a 'Guide' a...

Guest Blogger-  Dr Gutstein A Brief Introduction to Dynamic Intelligence Steven E. Gutstein Ph.D. What is Dynamic Intelligence? The real-world application of the most sophisticated level of human neural processing. Mental functioning that has evolved to enable us to successfully handle challenges presented by complex, dynamic environments The Gutstein Dynamic Intelligence Model, considers human beings to be active decision-makers, problem-solvers, opportunity-seekers and life-long learners, who benefit from their own and others experience, to make and execute effective decisions, in increasingly complex, dynamically changing environments.    Dynamic Intelligence is deployed in settings where emergent change is the norm. These are fluid, information rich environments, where paralysis or chaos results if we cannot rapidly "filter" and narrow down the Decision-Making Field. They are "volatile" environments where new situations may emerge without notice and re...

Guest blogger ...Dr. Gutstein on Guiding.... A Brief Introduction to Guiding Steven E. Gutstein Ph.D. Parents have many different responsibilities and take on many roles with their children. They provide for their safety and physical health. They protect them and keep them safe. They teach them how to take care of themselves and do the tasks of daily life. They have fun together. They provide them with rules and discipline but also with lots of love. These are the parenting activities we are most familiar with. They are the easiest for us to see. But there is much more going on underneath the surface.  Over the last 30 years, developmental psychologists have discovered that people are not born with Dynamic Intelligence. While some people are born with more potential to acquire Dynamic Intelligence than others, even those with the highest potential will not develop Dynamic Intelligence unless the right opportunities are made available to them. While all of the above parent...

How...and Why- The Importance of Resilience A look at some of Chapter one in “Tools of the mind” A sentence on Page 5 of Tools of the mind reads “Young children are able to think, attend, and remember. The problem is that their thinking, attention and memory are very reactive.” As our typical children develop resilience in those first few years of life, their mental tools emerge and their learning takes on a more self directed feel. At the very basic core, this begins when a typical child says things like “I do it”. When in a situation. They are no longer concerned with possible failure...they want to Try it. They have the foundations of trust...trust meaning that the person they are with, is trusted as their guide (they know they would step in if need be). This guide...will give them just enough freedom to not overwhelm them. It is a beautiful cycle of development repeated all across the world (The guided participation relationship) Of course these is just the start...but at th...