To read this article in Greek, click here
I became interested in working with the RDI program when my son, after some years of intensive early intervention, was mainstreamed at the public elementary school with a fulltime aide.
Although Alex could cope with the academic curriculum and he was well accepted by his peers and teachers, he was still struggling with social and behavioural issues. His lack of flexibility and emotional self-regulation had a negative impact in his daily life and was creating a lot of tension inside our family.At that time, I started reading about RDI and very soon realized how this intervention was exactly what my child needed and a perfect fit for my family.
When we started RDI with an RDI consultant, I felt confident again and empowered as a parent for the first time after a long time. I knew what I had to do and why.What I appreciated most is that RDI is a family centred intervention that recognizes the central role of families in children’s lives.In RDI parents re-establish their rightful place as guides for their children, a role that was disrupted by the obstacles created by neurological complications.
Before even working with their child, parents are trained by RDI consultants. They initially go through a series of parent objectives where they learn how autism works, how the child works and how parents can use that information to become better guides specifically for that child. After the first stages of parent objectives, we worked together with our consultant in order to set up challenges that could foster cognitive, social and communicative growth for my child.
As we were implementing the RDI program with simple daily activities, my son started trusting me and accepting my guidance and the challenges I offered him.
My child’s objectives were chosen based on typical development after determining where my son was on the developmental track.In this way we could give him a second opportunity to learn again, at his own pace, what he had missed through a series of objectives that could realistically be attained.Novelty and changes were introduced very slowly and challenges were accurately chosen within his zone of competence and development in order to build self-esteem and intrinsic motivation.
One of the most important aspects of RDI is that the focus is not on getting the child to do anything but rather providing opportunities for the child to learn under parental support. This was less exhausting for both my child and me. There was no need anymore to expect something or to obtain something from him, but through our interactions my child could make his own discoveries and learn to think and not just elicit behaviour.
After more than two years of doing RDI, my son is now more willing to share experiences with others, communicate more meaningfully, is cooperative and more resilient, and has a genuine curiosity and desire to learn from others. What is most important is that our relationship grew stronger and the quality of life has improved, not only for him but for the entire family.
Because of this transformation in my child and our family’s life, I decided to become an RDI consultant myself and to be able to support and inspire families and help their children in the spectrum to reach their full potential.
Onnis Simona is an RDI certified consultant based
in Athens, Greece. She has a background in special education and she is also a
proud mum of a child on the autistic spectrum. After seeing the positive
changes the RDI program brought about in her family, she became an RDI
consultant in 2012. With passion she shares her knowledge and supports families
with children in the autistic spectrum through the RDI program.