RDI Programme

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Hi Just wondering if anyone has used the RDI Programme "Relationship Development Interven". This has been recommended to me from a parent that used it and had success.

Hi Annamaria
Unfortunately no experience of RDI but I am also interested in hearing if other parents have used it. I had looked into it before, it did seem very intensive, is it only in the South?
Watching with interest....
Foobabe

We tried it and found it to be incredibly expensive and slower and therefore not as helpful as more traditional interventions. For all their protestations that it's different, it's really ABA but more carefully structured. A good ABA therapist should be able to do what RDI does. A bad ABA therapist will give you what the RDI commercial says all ABA is like.

The most frustrating part of RDI was the online "course" which runs tandem to the therapy and which was NOT free...but which is a multi-step infomercial for the program that took quite some time to complete.

That being said, I don't think it did any harm and we did get some benefit out of it, but the huge turnaround for DS was when we went to a traditional, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary program. It was part of a hospital, covered by our insurance, and included access to a pediatric neurologist, psychiatrist, developmental pediatrician, child psychologist, social workers, an OT and a speech therapist.

I liked the RDI approach, but it was too expensive and time consuming to use their program. I got the books and found some great videos on uTube made by a terrific Dad named Phil Commander. Then I used whatever I wanted that suited our situation at the time. It was effective and easy to apply in a natural setting.

I went to one of the free seminars and it sounded great, but simply could not afford it.

I know very expensive but what kind of didn't sit with me was the attitude to sensory issues. The psychologist suggested that sensory issues were due to stress not to do with the environment. For example he said that if a child is stressed out that any loud noise, someone touching him, bright lights etc. would cause the child to meltdown. I have many situation with my son where all was going ok until we walked into the shopping centre, GP surgery, local shop etc and he reacted. So I am very confused with this, others suggestion like that as parents we always tell our child what to do and we organise everything not necessary doing it but telling our child what they should do I can agree. For e.g. do you have you coat, toothbrush etc he said that we can ask in a different way that doesn't seem that we are ordering or controlling I suppose .
and that the child can do this with out been prompt. I really do agree with this cause I always have to prompt. I am not sure.

This worked for my son. I would say, for example, "I see your gum wrapper is on the floor," not "Please pick up the gum wrapper." This would give him time to process the visual input of paper on the floor and recall what he might be able to do. My son was once prompt dependent. But now, at age 14, he is able to process his world for himself and decide how to deal with it much of the time.

You really don't need an expensive R.D.I.program to do this. It's just common sense when you think about it--taking the time and patience needed to process independently and decide what to do.

I totally agree, I sometimes get caught on things but that's how I work with my child!

Just was reading this blog post: http://mamabegood.blogspot.com/2012/11/ ... avoid.html and realized that RDI is an exemplar of the 1st type of expert to avoid. I do remember being offended at all the doom and gloom that was part of the "infomercial" at the beginning of the program.