Relationship development intervention (RDI) may be helpful as part of a larger autism treatment program.
The purpose of this article is to teach psychiatrists about RDI. RDI has been in use for ten years now and it is a major relationship-based tool for autism intervention. RDI consultants focus on family support and parent training. They also focus on helping any IQ weaknesses in the child. The author notes that while RDI has not been studied in outcome based research, the thought behind the therapy makes sense and therefore the therapy likely offers value to the child with autism and the family.
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Responding to insurance
Sep 13, 2011 by AnonymousWe have private insurance for which we pay a premium and deductible. It covers occupational therapy, language therapy, physical therapy and psychological therapy but at a combined 75 visits for calendar year. This is not for each therapy but rather 75 total for all together. Thus, even with illness or vacation times taken, we do not have enough alotted time slots covered to continue therapy for a full year. Once we run out of the 75 covered slots, we must pay out of pocket. We pay a copay of $20 per visit. So, for example, if my child sees a language/speech therapist and the ot once per week it is $40 out of pocket until we hit the magic 75 allowed under the insurance. Then we woud have to pay $150 for one therapy and $160 for the other per week. The psychology/psychiatrist appointments are monthly. All of these therapies would be available more frequently and I am told by the therapists very helpful if we could do more than once a week for 1/2 a session but we cannot afford to do this. The children on the autism spectrum benefit greatly from these therapies and it is something that should be covered under the insurance policies, just as any health or mental health issue should be.
Autism and mental health
Sep 5, 2009 by AnonymousHas anyone had experience with autism and mental health issues? Specifically, my son was diagnosed with a psychotic disorder NOS and his psychiatrist said that this is not unusual in those children/adults on the spectrum. I wondered if anyone else has had this experience. Thanks for any help/ideas you could offer.
Where are the Adult Autistics ?
Nov 2, 2007 by AnonymousI have noticed in the last few years there has been a growing interest in Autism. Everywhere you look there's "awareness" of autism on t.v shows ,commercials,talk shows,news and other media sources. Early intervention,special diets,inclusion,communication,advocacy all these things are becoming a part of daily news.The number of children being diagnosed autistic are supposedly epidemic form which is still debated. But what happens when these children grow up? And where are the autistics that came before them? Were they cured? No,many were institutionalized and suffered unimaginable abuse. Many Autistic adults still suffer from PTSD as a result of the aversive ABA treatment, created by Ivar Lovaas, that they were subjected to as children in the 1960's.There are many "survivors" from that era.
It's as if an entire generation of autistics have simply been forgotten. Never seen,never spoke of.Contrary to what some may believe ,they do exist. Jenny McCarthy,spokesperson for TACA(Talk About Curing Autism) was asked this question during an interview "Where are the autistic adults?" her poignant response was "It's cause there weren't any,It's all now".
Yes,read that line one more time.
You can read the full interview here http://www.pr.com/article/1076
Perhaps Jenny and anyone else who is ignorant enough to think autism just rose out of the ashes within the last 6-7yrs (as she references in this interview) needs to check their facts. In 1943 Dr.Leo Kanner ,a psychiatrist from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and Dr.Hans Asperger,an Austrian Pediatrician both published their findings around the same time.Both described very similar traits in the patients they were seeing. What we now refer to as "classic" Autism and the other Asperger,coined by Dr.Hans Asperger.Because their discoveries were during a World War,neither of them knew about the other so they never had the opportunity to collaborate with each other. The earliest case recorded of Autism was as early as the 1930's.(Donald T. and Fritz V.) So,clearly autism and has been around for quite some time.
Autistic children grow up to be autistic adults.They can lead very fulfilling lives becoming parents,advocates,business owners,authors,scientists. And they are homeowners ,taxpayers, and soldiers . But there are some autistic adults who may need the same amount of support,education and other resources as autistic children do and that is where the system has failed.Imagine the money raised by "walk now" events , Hollywood glam fundraisers and enormous fundraising that big Autism Org's like to do so often .Think about how that money, or at least a good part of it, could be put into the communities to be used for outreach programs,housing,education etc for autistic adolescents and adults who are not being represented. Or what about financial assistance for families who cannot afford essential therapies such as speech therapy and better health care?
It is likely that you either know someone who is autistic or have a relative who is. Autistic adults who have made a difference in the lives of others are Tito Mukhopadhyay,Amanda Baggs,Sue Rubin,Temple Grandin,Michelle Dawson,Jim Sinclair,Jerry Newport..just to name a few.
Not one of these Autism Org's(Autism Speaks,CAN,TACA) who proclaim to "speak" for Autism has even one autistic individual that sits on a board or committee. The next time you give to an Autism Org or walk in circles to raise money for research,be sure you know how and where your donated dollars are being spent.
He's not a neurologist
Jun 7, 2007 by AnonymousWe finally got an appointment for Thomas with a pediatric neurologist! It’s for June 20, so not before we go on vacation, but that’s sooner rather than later. I finally gave up on our previous neurologist after calling the hospital he was affiliated with. The person on the phone had heard of him, but said that he was no longer with that hospital and they had no information on him. I called the mom of a boy who was in Thomas’ class this year and asked her where she took her son. She said that she had had to find a new neurologist as well. I called the number she gave me and got an appointment with one of the doctors in the group. Success, finally, after this wild goose-chase.
I’m very interested in asking this new neurologist to let Thomas try two things: Nemenda and Clonidine. The boy in Thomas’ class was diagnosed with autism originally, but after taking Nemenda his diagnosis changed to neurofibromatosis. It’s actually an interesting story; this boy had been non-verbal and taking Nemenda for some time and it didn’t seem to be doing much for him. One day, he got into the pills by accident and took a massive dose. He said his first word almost immediately. His mom said that he’s starting kindergarten this fall and will be in a mainstream classroom and will also receive a certain number of hours of both speech and occupational therapy every week. She said that one year ago, she would never have thought or even realistically hoped that her son would be doing as well as he is.
With all that I’ve read about this Nemenda and knowing that it helps seventy percent of kids on the spectrum, I’m hopeful that it will help Thomas. I’m trying very hard not to pin all of my hopes on this; there is the chance that it won’t work and we’ll be just as desperate as we are now. I just feel like I have to hope that something will help Thomas. If Nemenda doesn’t work, we’ll have to try something else. The Clonidine would be prescribed to help Thomas fall asleep and stay asleep. Not only does Thomas’ classmate take that, but Jonathan’s psychiatrist (who knows all about Thomas, believe me) recommended that we have it prescribed for Thomas. So that’s two pretty good accolades for this medication. I just wish I had been able to get Thomas started on these things before vacation, which is just thirty-six short hours away…
Thomas is still counting the minutes until we leave for the “vacation house.” Jonathan and I are apprehensive; Thomas has been so difficult to handle lately that we won’t be surprised if the whole week is a disaster and we don’t make a reservation for next year. (The switch from daily school to summer vacation is the catalyst for this difficult behavior, I’m sure.) A family vacation is very important to us, however. I always went on a family vacation with my parents and sisters every year since I was about four years old. Jonathan did too, though they were of a different sort. My family always went to the same place every year, during the same week in August. Jonathan’s family had a little motor home that they would drive all over the country (usually ending up in either Walt Disney World or Disneyland) and see different state parks and things. That’s why we do this; because it’s the way we were raised. Every year we go and think, “It’ll be better next year; we won’t have to bring all this stuff, they’ll be out of diapers by then, etc.” The problem is that it never seems to be any easier, just a different kind of hard. It was hard the first year because Thomas was a baby and we had to practically rent a U-Haul for all of his stuff. The year after that was hard because Hayley was a newborn and Thomas was mobile by then and a safety concern. The year after that, Thomas’ autism started to emerge (though unrecognized) and he was hard to handle. Last year, we were still trying to digest Thomas’ diagnosis and he was having a really awful time with transitions. This year, Thomas has regressed in terms of how he behaves in restaurants, so we’ve decided not to do any of the “whole family” restaurant outings we usually participate in. (A lot of my dad’s brothers and sisters and their families go on this vacation, too.) We just want to enjoy ourselves a little bit, but we have to watch the kids like hawks.
We saw my folks this past weekend for a few hours and let the kids play outside for a while. We were talking about vacation and how worried Jonathan and I are about Thomas. My dad wants so much to just wave a magic wand and make all of our troubles go away. I can’t remember exactly what he said, but it went something like, “Well, if Thomas is giving you a hard time I’ll just pick him up and talk to him and then I’ll be the bad guy instead of you guys.” He talks about it like it can be so easy to handle Thomas and he’ll just take care of it. He wants to make all of this go away for us. It’s so sweet and sad; he’s having just as much trouble watching us struggle as we are actually struggling in the thick of things.
Unfortunately, he’s not a neurologist.