Relationship Development Intervention (RDI^®) Program

Tx:Team is constantly striving to provide cutting edge, clinical programming, such as Women’s Health, Pediatric Therapy, Driver Rehabilitation and now, the addition o

f the Relationship Development Intervention (RDI^®), to reach even more families in Central Indiana. This treatment can be provided in any age group 2 ½ years to adulthood.  Tx:Team Consultants will be one of the first consultants in Indiana to earn this prestigious certification.  

The RDI program is a cognitive model designed to work with children who have Autism Spectrum Disorders by providing consultation to families to address the core deficits, which include flexible thinking, communication and development of self, as well as social and emotional relationships. Recently featured on the Oprah Winfrey show, May, 2008, the RDI program promoting the program as “behavior therapy but teaches the parent to become the therapist. It does great things for ALL ages of kids on the spectrum.”

Often called the “missing link” in autism treatment, the Relationship Development Intervention® (RDI®) Program is a parent-based treatment program that helps parents learn how to guide their child to desire and succeed in genuine give-and-take relationships, while addressing flexible thinking, rapid attention-shifting, executive functioning and emotional regulation. Tx:Team now brings this esteemed programming to families in the Central Indiana communities. The RDI® Program is based on the latest scientific research about autism, the brain and developmental psychology.

With a trained and certified Tx:Team Consultant,  families will receive one on one attention with guidance throughout the six month commitment. The RDI program is treatment of the family unit itself.  Through 1:1 meetings with parents, child, and the family unit,    videotaping and use of the RDIos, families will be provided a sense of unity within the community of autism.

Many families have expressed their feelings of empowerment, stating that the RDI program is the first program that has given them hope for success. 

The RDI® Program is:

• a parent-based intervention program where parents are provided the tools to effectively teach Dynamic Intelligence skills and motivation to their child.
• about the joy in connecting: a path for people on the autism spectrum to learn friendship, empathy, and a love of sharing their world and experiences with others.
• about changing neurology: a way for people on the spectrum to become flexible thinkers and creative problem solvers who enjoy the challenges of change and who desire to expand their world.
• based on over 20 years of research by world's experts on typical development as well as scientific studies on people with autism.
• developmental & systematic: a step-by-step program that focuses first on building the motivations so that skills will be used & generalized; followed by carefully and systematically building the skills for competence and fulfillment in a complex world.
• realistic: a program that can be started easily, and implemented seamlessly into regular, day-to-day  activities to enrich the life of the whole family.
• precise: a method that measures and begins at the edge of each person's capability and then carefully but continually raises the bar.

 Why do parents like the RDI® Program?

Parents who have participated have said they like the RDI™ Program because it is:

 Systematic but flexible: Parents find that having access to a comprehensive set of step-by-step      objectives which they can use in everyday life is critical in rendering the program "user-friendly."  Parents also gain the confidence they can carry out the RDI® Program without extensive involvement of therapists. Parents also prefer elements of the program that allow them, with their professional Consultant's guidance, to customize their style of involvement, communication, activities, scheduled intervention periods and settings based on the unique needs of their child and family.

Developmental: Teaching parents to focus on the child's current developmental functioning breaks the cycle of failure and feelings of inadequacy for both parents and child. Setting careful, developmentally appropriate objectives gives parents and children   permission to focus on skills that can realistically be attained, knowing that these simpler successes are  laying the foundation for eventual competence in more complex areas.

 The RDI® Program breaks the cycle of failure for both parent and the child.

Empowering: Parents recognize that the RDI® Program is not teaching them to be a  therapist, but rather providing a means to more effectively guide their child's development. Many parents tell us that the RDI® Program has helped them to feel like a competent parent for the first time. Once they have mastered the first few stages of the    program, children begin to take on more responsibility for monitoring and regulating their actions in various settings. Parents and teachers report that after children in the RDI® Program had mastered social referencing (the second of twenty-six RDI® stages) they were no longer forced to    constantly prompt and direct the child. Finally, families   reported that the RDI®     Program model made it easier for both parents, but especially fathers, to participate and to accrue the benefits described above.

Balancing and "Normalizing": After several months of doing the RDI® Program parents    report that everyday life becomes less stressful and more enjoyable for everyone in the family. Siblings do not feel excluded or neglected. Parents can move out of a state of "permanent crisis" and resume a more normal life again.

For additional information on the Relationship Intervention Development Program with Tx:Team, please contact a consultant at 800-603-6046 extension 27.