I was standing under a tree at a nursery school playground talking with an occupational therapist about how we could integrate our two agendas for the benefit of both. She was working on getting a child to persist at motor tasks that provide strong sensory input but the harder she tried to direct his attention to his feet on the pedals of a bike the more he shifted his attention from one thing to another to another.
I was working on helping staff and parents give him a reason to shift his attention to them first before giving him information. I modeled how to create a little problem. He needed something to think about that began with me. I blocked the bike path. He shifted his attention to me and then I enticed him to push me out of the way using his bike. With the OT’s help he tried harder to pedal and got me to move out of the way. As the adults in his life focused on being the first step in a problem he needed to solve he began to shift his attention more readily. He became increasingly open to receiving information about all kinds of things he needed to learn, such as how to rotate a puzzle piece, follow directions, or not grab from another child. Within a few months he was less dependent on adults triggering his attention shifting and was taking more responsibility to monitor and look for information.
I had in mind my favorite “bumper sticker”, a revised version of the old RDI “keep in mind” or “phrase” to help parents stay narrowly focused while carrying a broader understanding in their minds. My favorite bumper sticker is “If you target the right thing, you don’t have to target everything”. As we stood under the tree and talked I realized that the tree provided a great visual example of this bumper sticker. The trunk of the tree was the underlying process ability (attention shifting to his partner) that was needed so he could be in a receiving position. This allowed him to accept direction and assistance with his motor skills. When we strengthened the underlying process he learned skills that were never directly targeted. From the trunk of the tree the many branches, twigs, and leaves emerged.
In the past treatment for autism has focused on breaking down every missing skill into each of its components, teaching each component and then putting them all back together and “Voila!”...execution of a skill is accomplished. However, without targeting the trunk, the underlying process abilities, we are left teaching every little thing, targeting every branch, twig, and leaf. And each leaf, twig, and branch has minimal connection to others on the tree. Using information learned at one part of the tree cannot easily be carried to another part for use. There is no pathway for generalizing a skill.
RDI is all about targeting the trunk of the tree so that the branches, twigs, and leaves will emerge without the need to target each and every one. Skills develop more naturally, with a solid foundation in function that provides the pathway for generalization. If specific remediation work is needed because of a co-occurring condition, it is more successful because the child is better able to make use of the teaching. Which brings me to my other favorite bumper sticker - “from the inside out rather than the outside in”.
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Pat Voytko is an RDI® Consultant, special education teacher and early intervention provider. RDI® has become the foundation of all her work as it focuses on the natural process of developing relationships, which, in turn, supports social/cognitive development and an improved quality of life.