Autism Therapy: relationship development intervention (RDI)

definition of relationship development intervention (RDI): Relationship Development Intervention™ is a treatment program that centers on the belief that individuals with autism may participate in authentic emotional relationships if they are exposed to them in a gradual, systematic way.

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Empowering Families through Relationship Development Intervention: An Important Part of the Biopsychosocial Management of Autism Spectrum Disorders
Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, by Gutstein, SE, published in 2009, summarized Jun 15, 2010

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.


The Cost of Fad Treatments in Autism
Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention, by Zane, T., Davis C., and Rosswurm M., published in 2009, summarized May 26, 2009

Children with autism and their parents may be best served by only using proven autism therapies such as applied behavior analysis (ABA).

The authors note that parents really need therapies for their children that work. This review article describes two fad autism therapies: sensory integration therapy and Relationship Development Intervention (RDI). They define fad treatments as treatments that do not have quality research showing that they work. Fad treatments cost money, can be hard on the emotions of the parents, and give false hope. Many parents turn to fad treatments because they want to do as much as they can for their child as fast as they can.


Evaluation of the Relationship Development Intervention Program
Autism, by Gutstein, SE, Burgess AF, and Montfort K., published in 2007, summarized Oct 29, 2007

Relationship development intervention (RDI) therapy was able to move all children studied from a diagnosis of autistic to a diagnosis of not autistic.

This study reviewed the progress of 16 children who received RDI therapy from 2000 to 2005. The study found that RDI can help children with autism. The study observed the children, looked at school placement, and gathered parent thoughts on the child's progress. It seemed that the RDI was the key factor in the child getting better. While the study did measure IQs, the IQs of the children did not seem to get higher.


Autism Spectrum Disorders in Early Childhood: An Overview for Practicing Physicians
Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, by Carr, JE, and LeBlanc LA, published in 2007, summarized Sep 4, 2007

This review article describes the many treatment options for children with autism. The authors go into detail on ten treatment options: 1) early and intensive behavioral intervention (applied behavior analysis (ABA)); 2) Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children (TEACCH); 3) relationship development intervention (RDI)/developmental; individual-difference, relationship based model (DIR); 4) sensory integration therapy; 5) gluten-free/casein-free diet; 6) vitamin therapy; 7) risperidone; 8) chelation therapy; 9) secretin; and 10) hyperbaric oxygen therapy. They note that while there are many forms of ABA all share three things: 1) they are intense, 2) they are very focused and teach certain skills, and 3) they teach these skills by giving a child a reward when they do things right. In contrast, TEACCH works around the learning styles of the children with autism and uses special techniques to help them learn. RDI and DIR are unique in that they focus on teaching children to connect socially with others through a technique known as "floor time." The authors discuss these therapy options in the hopes that doctors will be better able to help parents seeking treatments for their children.


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Entire Family Participates in RDI Therapy

Oct 5, 2011

The Andrews decided to involve the entire family in their son’s autism therapy. The therapy they chose was Relationship Development Intervention (RDI). Chresta Ambers, a certified RDI therapist, says this therapy can be used at any age and any range of a person with autism. RDI was created by Dr. Steven Gutstein and is a parent-based treatment that incorporates six objectives: emotional referencing, social coordination, declarative language, flexible thinking, rational information processing, and foresight and hindsight. The Andrews say that RDI is a therapy they can practice 24/7 with their son.

Read original article: KidSafe - R.D.I. for Autism


Dentists Use Social Stories to Ease the Fears of Children with Autism

Jun 8, 2011

Dr. Alan Milnes and Dr. Terry Farquhar are dentists who wrote this article about taking your child with autism to the dentist. These pediatric dentists have advanced training in working with children with special needs. One of the tools they suggest is social stories, which can be made by the parents to show what will happen at the dental office. The dentists also suggest using the child’s natural desire for routine and excellent memory. Visits to the office can begin with a simple tour, and then expand to sitting in the chair, and looking at the equipment. It's a good idea to meet the hygienist and dentist beforehand to become more comfortable with their interactions. The kids learn new behaviors that may be repeated at each visit. Milnes and Farquhar explain, “This process is identical to that used in applied behavioural analysis (ABA) and relationship development intervention (RDI) therapies.” The dentists remind parents that good dental hygiene should happen at home on a daily basis; they have suggestions to help with tooth care at home.

Read original article: Dentistry and Autism


Helping a Child with Autism Make Friends

Jul 30, 2010

Lisa Jo Rudy, the autism columnist at About.com, recently answered a reader’s question about helping a child with autism make friends. Rudy suggested that children with autism may suffer from sensory integration issues, making it difficult to communicate and interact. Therapies that Rudy suggests include: sensory integration therapy, generally offered by occupational therapists; Floortime/RDI/Play therapy, which help a child build relationships; and speech therapy, which can help the child understand and communicate with other children. In addition, camp situations and extracurricular activities that involve the child in non-threatening ways, such as swimming or horseback riding, can be useful.

Read original article: How to Help a Child with Autism Take Part and Make Friends


Community Resources Help Teenager Who is "Differently-Abled"

Apr 6, 2009

A Florida teenager, diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDDNOS), has benefited from community resources developed by his parents and other parents of children with autism. These parents had fewer resources 12-18 years ago than parents do now, so they learned and taught each other about early intervention, speech therapy, occupational therapy, mainstreaming, and RDI. Currently, the number of resources in this Florida community is flourishing: Child Find , Exceptional Education and Student Services, and the Central Florida Autism Institute (CFAII), among others.

Read original article.


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Please comment on this autism topic.

Responding to relationship development intervention (RDI)

Jan 6, 2012 by Anonymous

I am a parent of an 18 yr. old young man with ASD who we have been doing RDI with for the past 3 years. Once we began the program his life and ours changed. He now initiates conversation with us - true conversation, with give and take, perspective sharing, observations are related and my interests considered. He is much more other-focused and considerate. Outbursts and anti-social behaviors have been significantly decreased. Our household is so much more calm and life normalized. His ability to make study us during communication (total body language - faces, posture, tone - not just the words said) and approrpriately respond and interpret this non-verbal aspect of language is really imporved and remarked upon by family/friends and teachers. He is able to do this on his own, no prompting, no scripting - it is becoming "normal" and happening as expected. We are completely satisfied with this program and while costly, it has delivered the results where others haven't. It really changed his life. I work in Special Olympics and have a control group to compare him and this intervention against as a result. His progress compared against his peers (same age/ school experiences/ but different interventions) is significantly better. We very much look forward to how far he can go.



Responding to relationship development intervention (RDI)

Jul 28, 2011 by Anonymous

Thank you to all the RDI defenders. It is ridiculous to believe that there is just one tried and true therapy for kids with autsim.  I believe ABA works for some kids, but it wasn't even an option for mine.  We had a very well-known doctor who agreed with our decision and believed because of our son's personality, ABA might cause of problems for him.  We started RDI at home about 2 years ago.  We then moved into extendeder services at our home and now have him in an RDI therapeutic school 5 full days a week.  WOW, what a difference!  My son has made such striders.  The extenders are wonderful people who really care about him and his progress.  He has built peer relationships at school that I never thought was possible.  RDI is not a fad.  Because of the nature of the program, progress is documented on a regular basis via videos made by parents, consultants, etc.  It is amazing to look back and see how far my son has come.  As a parent, you feel supported and a huge part of your child's progress which is so rewarding.  I urge other families to take a look at RDI and not be pushed into other therapies that they are not comfortable with.  BTW, my son's RDI is covered 100% through insurance after we reach our deductible.


Responding to relationship development intervention (RDI)

Jul 27, 2011 by letscureautism

Responding to relationship development intervention (RDI)

Jul 12, 2011 by Anonymous

RDI is not a fad therapy.  It is based on years of clinical research into how typical parent/child relationships and childrens' brains develop from infancy.  It then seeks to recapture what was not possible because of autism.  It helps remediate the core deficits and rebuild new neural pathways.  If the brain is re-wired then all the other behavioral issues can be remediated as well without scripted, rote learning. 


Just because it is fairly new and the focus has been on developing the program and helping children/families (rather than funding and documenting for research purposes, which IS needed), that does not mean that it's a fad. 


Also, as a parent of a child on the spectrum there has been NOTHING else I have found that has focused on the family and actually helps us goal-set and apply techniques in our everyday, busy life.  This is a God-send and, I believe, will become the standard course of treatment for autistic individuals in the years to come.  It's not a fad.


Sincerely,


Leigh Reeves, mother of precious 4 year old Angeleah who is getting much-needed help with RDI


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    • Synonyms for relationship development intervention (RDI) include: rdi, RDI™, relationship development intervention, Relationship Development Intervention™
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