Is anyone else here doing RDI?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Is anyone else here doing RDI?
2
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 3:59pm

I have had my son Ian (ASD) in RDI for almost 6 months. I am wondering if anyone else has their child in RDI therapy. Does you school district pay for it or do you have to pay for it? What do you think of it? Are you happy with the result?

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2004
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 7:36pm

Dear Ian's Mom,

Malcolm has been doing RDI this past year. I also know that Suzi who posts here has been doing at-home RDI and floortime, cuz I've avidly read her posts for backup ideas etc.

Malcolm's RDI is mostly in his school, because Malcolm goes to an ASD elementary school that has trained all the teachers to use RDI in the classroom throughout the day, plus their school psychologist is an RDI provider and works more individually with the kids. Also, they are creating group RDI work for each class, which is working wonderfully.

My husband and I also practise with him at home, although we are not rigidly following the program. Rather, we are working with our school psychologist and our own assessment of Malcolm's splinter skills to use the exercises in ways that help where he's at and what is most currently useful to work on. creating the games is really fun, once you get the hang of it. Now it happens almost without thinking as a part of our routine.

We do not pay for RDI, because although the school is private, our school district has such an appalling lack of appropriate programming that they must pay for the private school!!!

We are very happy with results of the addition of RDI to Malcolm's intense therapeutic regime this past year. Because Malcolm (8 years old in one week (!), mild PDD-NOS) has been in therapeutic schools and services practically around the clock since he was 3, we can really see the change that RDI has brought about this last year. He is MUCH more interactive and happy, social and confident, able to handle suspense and sudden changes with much more aplomb. I am a big fan.

yours,

Sara
ilovemalcolm

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-24-2004
Fri, 06-17-2005 - 2:44am

Hi Ian's Mom! Yes, we use RDI with our son. We also use floortime. I do not follow the RDI program very religiously at this point because it got to be too much for me when I became pregnant. We cannot afford a consultant, but I do have a PHD in developmental psych, and in my former life, I taught preschool and worked in early intervention. I have thought about becoming certified in RDI, but there is just too much going on with our family to do that right now.

Anyway, I like the RDI program, and I respect Gutstein and Sheeley's work very much. I know most of the research that Gutstein cites and read most of the books on his list in grad school. RDI does have a solid foundation. I have also seen it work wonders with some kids. The RDI principles keep me grounded when I do floortime or any other interactions with my son. Gutstein has done a great job of helping parents understand what we really need to be working on.

I haven't attempted to get our school to do much with RDI yet because my son only goes for 1/2 days. I am tackling that next year in his new IEP when I will put in a few RDI goals. After years of being a professional working with young children, I also feel some empathy for teachers, and I really don't want to micromanage what they are doing with my son, if you KWIM. Often, the peripheral skills they are working on are important, just as ameliorating the core characteristics of autism are.

Welcome to this board. I have found this group to be a great source of support many times.

Suzi