RDI - A Quality of Life - Connections Center

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Autism Myths

A Quality of Life

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?

The goal of the RDI® Program is to
provide the majority of people on the autism spectrum
with the potential to attain a true quality of life.

Why "social skills" and behavior modification are not enough

Prior to the RDI® Program, most intervention approaches taught children on the autism spectrum to perform scripted behaviors with limited value in many real-life interactions. For example, a child may be taught an opening gambit when approaching another child on a playground. However, if the rehearsed remark does not lead to acceptance, or even if it does, the child is left with no ability to participate in the spontaneous, highly fluid peer interactions of even a simple playground environment.

While they clearly have benefit, even the most widely used and most intensive intervention methods have not demonstrated their effectiveness in producing a high quality of life for people on the autism spectrum. We do not know whether any intervention programs, even those that claim to be "proven," actually lead to the child's ability to develop friendships, live independently and obtain satisfying employment. We all hear about children who are "recovered" or who "look normal" but we never really know what happens to them in real life and whether the "miracle" of their progress was really due to any specific program or treatment.

We believe that to produce successful adults, a clinical intervention program must develop effective ways to address the debilitating core deficits of autism. These core deficits: rigid thinking, aversion to change, inability to understand other's perspectives, failure to empathize, and absolute, "black-and-white thinking," continue to plague people on the autism spectrum throughout their lives.

The problem is, faking never ceases to be work.

Why language and IQ are not enough

Scientists find that even those children who speak well and are high achievers in school, are at high risk for failure in life.

The largest study‡ ever conducted of high functioning adults with Asperger's Syndrome and Autism was completed in 2001. The researchers followed hundreds of young adults on the autism spectrum who had high IQ's and good language. 50% of these bright individuals went on to higher education after high school. Yet, at the time of the study:

Only 12% were employed
Only 3% could live independently
Over 65% had almost no social contact outside of their family
None were married or involved in a significant emotional relationship

Over 75% of children currently diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have at least average intellectual potential and adequate language development, placing them on the "high functioning" end of the spectrum. Yet, as this and other studies clearly demonstrate, their academic achievement and language proficiency are not sufficient to attain a quality of life. Despite significant progress in evaluation and treatment of ASDs, the prognosis for quality of life for people on the spectrum remains poor.

Yet the myth that language and academic achievement equals success continues to be communicated even by some "expert" professionals. The following page illustrates just a few of the many misconceptions that continue to spread.