Sometimes there is a misconception that RDI does not work with children who are non-verbal, that this is not for them. But Dr. Rachelle Sheely talks about her work with children on the spectrum that were non-verbal and how RDI® can be used with every child.
A lot of people think there’s this continuum of dynamic on one end and static on the other, where you got this opposite… That sort of the opposite of static, and it’s not at all. On the one end, you’ve got static, but on the other end you’ve got chaotic or random. And that’s what systems theories tell us, and there are two very important ways in which dynamic situations or systems are different from their chaotic ones.
When you have someone older the parents are often very tired, because they’ve been trying so many things. It’s very difficult for them to dream again.
For some reason, the necessary MindGuiding Relationship that typically forms between parent and child during the first year of life doesn’t happen with autistic individuals–but with RDI®, it is possible to re-establish this relationship and nurture the growth mindset in your child.
In the general population, there’s a spectrum of people. Not everybody is going to be a college professor, and some people are going to have jobs as an assistant at Starbucks, and other people are going to have jobs as engineers. And so when I see someone who has a job as a greeter at Starbucks and has autism and has a girlfriend, I see that as an incredible success.
With the rate of employment among ASD adults low and rates of depression and suicide high, it’s clear that something isn’t working. RDI addresses this deficit.
My advice to RDI® parents is to make sure you and your consultant are asking, “How does everybody get on the same page and how do you come together as a family?” Not an autism family, but how do you come together as a family?
As children with autism grow up and inch closer to adulthood, there are sometimes lingering concerns–What if we didn’t do enough? What if we went in the wrong direction? What if independence isn’t possible?–but growth is possible into adulthood.
RDI® focuses on well-being in children with Autism, rather than assessments and measurements, giving them independence and true quality of life.
RDI® is a developmental pathway to gradually moving more and more and more towards self-management and self-guiding in a dynamic world.
