RDI Information

For those of you who wanted to know more about RDI (Relationship Development Intervention), here is a link to their website:
www.rdiconnect.com

Sam has begun a class that is being run using RDI principles. It's a sort of "art therapy" class, run by a certified dance therapist who is going for RDI training right now. I found the facility that is doing this class, the Damselfly Center, by searching the internet while I was looking for something that Sam might be able to do over the summer. I've done a lot of reading on line about various interventions for spectrum children, and up until I found this, none of them seemed "right" to me, or seemed to fit Sam's situation. Something about Theresa Haney and the Damselfly Center seemed to make sense when I thought about what Sam might respond to. He's always loved music, has a strong interest in dancing, and is just beginning to be excited about how he can draw and create things for himself. When I started reading more about RDI and the results that some spectrum children were having, it also sounded like a good fit. Only time will tell for sure, but so far Sam seems to really like the class and enjoys being with the children in the class.
I think one of the great difficulties about dealing with the autism spectrum (and probably, I would imagine, any disability) is weeding through the sheer volume of information out there. Not everything will work or even be suitable for every person. People will of course be passionate and advocate for those interventions that have worked for their loved ones, and its up to us as parents to decide what might be the best course of action for our child. I guess the best we can do is trust our gut and the knowledge we have about our children.
At any rate, I'm hoping that this is good experience for us.