08/06/2015
Check out this parent testimonial:
My son, Ben, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. We have worked very hard as a family to help Ben by trying all kinds of therapies. We did years of ABA when he was young, speech therapy, O.T., public school with an aide, medications, and various other things to help him.
We started RDI about two months before Ben’s 17th birthday. Remembering our initial evaluation, I can say it was very difficult, almost painful, doing the three activities our consultant, Lori, prepared for us. Ben had little or no interest in completing these activities. On the other hand, I was stressed and trying
like mad to get him to participate. After we finished, I viewed the evaluation video with Lori. A big stand out was that I was constantly talking and asking Ben questions as we were attempting the activities—talk about sensory overload.
Fast forward one year, his reevaluation was amazing! We were given the same three exercises, but Ben was much more engaged and interested in participating. His problem solving was much better and I was less nervous and not prompting his every action. This was tangible evidence that the RDI methods were slowly but surely making a difference—not just in him but in me!
I gained a lot of insight during the year. I learned how to create opportunities for Ben to figure things out and not over prompt. To let go and let him try, but recognize that fine line of too much challenge and help him before he became overly frustrated.
RDI is the missing piece we needed! We have known for a long time that Ben needed help with problem solving and executive functioning, but we found no good way to teach those skills. I am convinced that RDI is the way for him to learn those skills. Lori has been an encouraging guide and friend. She has
taught us the changes we needed to make in our interactions that are allowing Ben to stretch and grow in ways we could not have conceived. We have renewed hope for our son’s future as a happy and much more independent person.