The experiences I've had (I have aspergers, my son has autism) is that behavior is nothing without function. Inclusion is harmful if the child isn't ready for it....depends on the child, depends on the setting. I'm not saying it's always harmful, but I am saying if the child is in the room in physical presence only, and not emotional presence, what's the point?

I've become a huge HUGE HUGE cheerleader for a program called RDI. You can find it on www.rdiconnect.com . I have found nothing that even comes close. It focuses on function, rather than behavior. I found this statement on the site (which is a very large site to navigate, so don't be intimidated) to be a good idea of what the point of RDI is....the doctor who created it said, "I wanted the kids in my waiting room to look at me and smile because they were happy to see me, not cause their therapist was going to give them an m&m"

I am a walking monument to 'normal' behavior, with a total lack of understanding as to why I do what I do. I compare myself to the 50's housewife that would iron, smile, make dinner, and get beat by her hubby....it's like I'm on autopilot, but a shell. Despite being 42, an adult, and set in my ways, just a few months of RDI is making me feel like for the first time in my life, my eyes are opening. I'm almost MANIC (that of course could be the bipolar too, but that's another story). I'm grasping things I never did before, and acting and thinking in ways I can't believe...much of this is just due to finding out the core deficits common to ALL people on the spectrum.

Well, I could go on and on about RDI, and I do, and I will again I'm sure. Not cause I want to drive everyone nuts, but because I feel it's absolutely step one for EVERYONE on the spectrum. My son too, is saying and doing things...I swear to God I have no explanation for. And they are coming from HIM, not behaviors that were taught. I mean, one day after he'd expected to go fishing all day, I told him I would not take him after all...and he was like, "well, that's ok, we can maybe go tomorrow or in two days or in two years" I was like WOW!!! No meltdown, matter of fact he handled that better than most kids would of. He was demonstrating FLEXIBLE THINKING....to do that means he is aquiring the components you need to have flexible thinking....I mean, it's just a miracle. RDI is simply normal stages every kid goes through, packaged in a way that you can apply it to your child with autism, so they can benifit from it. It does not intend to 'make your child nt', it gives your child the chance to experience the development and attributes everyone else does, and to then, react and behave with the benefit of that.

Hope that makes some sense.

I will warn you, the giant and as far as I know only down side to RDI, is you really do need a consultant if you are a parent on the spectrum yourself, and I would imagine it is a large benefit to nt parents as well.

Reality check...after all is said and done, the program is about $5,000 per year. I'm not aware of a state in which you can't get it paid for yet. As stone broke as we are, I was more than willing to put that on credit for as long as I could. That is a steal compared to other programs. You get an initial consultation, then every other week send a video tape of yourself and your child doing the activities. If you are close enough to your consultant, I would imagine you go there. Consultants do home visits as well.

RDI would be benificial to every person on the planet, but the more you lack the core deficits common to all persons on the spectrum, the more you stand to gain from it. I can't recommend it highly enough, above all other 'behavioral' or ABA programs. Screw behavior, doesn't matter if my kid looks in my eyes when I speak if he is doing so from memorizing that it is expected of him...he should look into my eyes and at my face when I speak cause he gets information from my expression. Now he does.

The only time I'd go straight to behavior modification and not to RDI, is if the child was hurting himself or others...that needs immediate action, RDI is not immediate. Well, it was for me cause it not only helped me, but gave me words and understandings I never had before, to put behind his behaviors...now in my mind his behavior is neither 'good' or 'bad', behavior is communication.

Ok, dumping all the shampoo to make a suds tsunami the other day was 'bad', but you know what I mean