What is Relationship Development Intervention?

Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) was developed by Dr. Steven Gutstein. This is an intervention program designed to remediate the cognitive processing deficits of autism, and focuses heavily on developing these through the autistic child’s relationship with their parents. The goal of the RDI® Program is to provide people on the autism spectrum with the potential to attain a higher quality of life (e.g., the ability to have meaningful friendships, live independently as adults, marry, etc.).

Dr. Gutstein found in his work with autistic children that those with a high IQ, good verbal skills, good grades, and good behaviors were not able to carry on a reciprocal conversation with peers, or have the basic foundational social skills that neurotypical infants develop naturally. He realized he needed to find ways to expand his work with children on the autism spectrum. Dr. Gutstein observed that most of the interventions being widely used addressed the behavioral symptoms of autism, but not the underlying cause of the symptoms (the cognitive processing problems that are believed to result from neurological abnormalities in autism). Dr. Gutstein reviewed the latest research on how infants typically develop; and Relationship Development Intervention is the program Dr. Gutstein developed to help autistic children slowly develop these skills. His focus is not on “curing” autism, but on remediating these deficits (i.e., reducing their severity or impact so that they no longer have a negative impact on the child’s quality of life).

You can find information on RDI on the official website at www.rdiconnect.com.

There will be more tips in the near future on this webpage describing activities you can do with your child based on these principles.

       RDI information contributed by Nebraska parents Steve & Meg Westby

(For more tips please visit our Autism News section where everything is archived!)