RDI Support/Work Group Starting in NJ

[Guest guest]

IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM, OTHER

DISORDERS

A new support/working group has been established in Southern NJ (PA

& DE welcome) to assist families in improving outcomes for their

children diagnosed with disorders affecting their ability to relate

to others, make friends, and enjoy a high quality of life. These

disorders may include autism, PDD-NOS, Aspergers syndrome, ADHD, and

obsessive-compulsive disorder. The group will center its work in

Relationship Development Intervention (RDI), created by Dr.

Gutstein at Dr. Sheely. (See below for a description.) The

group is being sponsored by the on Township School District.

The group will hold their first meeting on Monday, September 13, at

7:00 p.m. at Pleasant Valley School, 401 Cedar Road, Mullica Hill,

NJ. A second meeting will follow on September 27, and thereafter

every 2nd and 4th Monday of every month, excluding Holidays. The

first two sessions will present an introduction to the basic

principles of RDI, and in continuing sessions parents and

professionals will discuss topics and show videos demonstrating how

families can work with their children to improve outcomes. In

addition to the in-person support group meeting, we have established

a group called RDI-NJ. Parents and professionals from NJ, PA

and DE are welcome to join. For more information on the support

group, please call 856-223-9488 (evening).

For those of you unfamiliar with RDI, it is a program that is

designed to improve the quality of life for children and families

affected by autism spectrum disorders, whose principles may be

applicable to children with other disorders of relatedness as well.

From Dr. Gutstein's website, RDIconnect dot com, I pulled the

following descriptions:

Think about your dreams of a typical day in your child's future. Do

you hope someday, he or she will:

• Not only talk fluently, but engage in genuinely curious

conversations?

• Delight in a true friendship?

• Feel a sense of pride in being able to contribute to his or

her community?

• Enjoy the excitement and comfort of a boyfriend or

girlfriend and maybe even get married and have children?

• Feel capable and confident living an independent lifestyle?

• Experience the satisfaction and rewards of successful

employment?

Relationship Development Intervention is:

• a parent-based clinical treatment program where parents are

provided the tools to effectively teach Dynamic Intelligence skills

and motivation to their child.

• about the joy in connecting: a path for people on the Autism

Spectrum to learn friendship, empathy, and a love of sharing their

world and experiences with others.

• about changing neurology: a way for people on the spectrum

to become flexible thinkers and creative problem solvers who enjoy

the challenges of change and who desire to expand their world.

• based on over 20 years of research by world's experts on

typical development as well as scientific studies on people with

autism.

• developmental & systematic: a step-by-step program that

focuses first on building the motivations so that skills will be

used & generalized; followed by carefully and systematically

building the skills for competence and fulfillment in a complex

world.

• realistic: a program that can be started easily, and

implemented seamlessly into regular, day-to-day activities to enrich

the life of the whole family.

• precise: a method that measures and begins at the edge of

each person's capability and then carefully but continually raises

the bar.

• effective: within 18 months, over 70% of children in our

initial study improved their diagnosis based on the Autism

Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). The majority of children

also moved from a special education to a regular classroom without

needing an aide.