Autism Treatment FAQ's

How to Engage My Services

What are your most important needs when it comes to managing your life and helping your autistic child? Well, I have spoken to clients and parents in your situation and my situation. Here are some of the answers I have heard. "We just want to feel normal again. We want to be able to control and help determine the outcome of our lives! We fear for the future of our child. What will happen to him after we are gone? How will he live? We want to be able to connect with our child but day after day we struggle and often feel like we are losing the battle!!"

How I Can Help You

As an RDI® Program Certified Consultant, I can help you with all of these issues and more! How can I say that so quickly and easily? Because unlike some of the other behavioral modification interventions out there that claim to benefit and to give your child the skills to cope and function in this world, RDI®  is about treating and remedying the CORE and the ROOTS of the autism itself. In RDI® lingo, these core roots are otherwise known as
The Core Deficits of Autism. So let me give a quick tour on how I can help you with your most serious and urgent concerns!

What Quality Of Life Will Your Child Have When He Grows Up?

One of the most profound questions and concerns that RDI® addresses is
The Quality of Life for Your Child as he/she grows up into adulthood. Dr. Steve Gutstein, founder of RDI® began asking the hard but pertinent questions such as, "What are we preparing these kids for? Yes, now they are two, but what will they look like when they are 12, 22, 32, etc? Are we giving them the life skills that they will need to provide them with a better quality of life?" By quality of life he means, is the person able to live independently, hold down a job, have friends and intimate relationships?

Unfortunately, if you look at current statistics, we find that the autism field has not been preparing them too well. Most adults on the  Spectrum do not live independently, are not able to hold down a job and have very few if any meaningful relationships in their lives apart from their immediate family. RDI® addresses those quality of life issues that quite frankly no one else is looking at. One of the powerful tools that enable me to look into your child's "spectrum" is the RDA®.

A Powerful Tool That I Use

The RDA® (Relationship Development Assessment) is one of the very important tools and methods at my disposal. The RDA® enables me to see where your child has developmentally “hit the wall” in their social communicative competency and is no longer able to progress on their own. As RDI® is not a one-size-fits-all type of intervention. Each home program is tailored to target each child’s specific developmental needs.

One of the things my clients love about RDI® is how they feel after developing their new found parenting skills. How does it feel??
IT FEELS GREAT!! because for the first time in your life with your autistic child, it puts you-the parent into the driver’s seat and makes you feel empowered.

How and Why RDI® Works

RDI® works on many levels. For instance, it works because it teaches your child to become engaged and connected to the real world and real people. There is no rote learning going on, but rather active participation from the child in real life situations. RDI® provides you and your child with the opportunity to reestablish the core parent/child relationship that did not develop prior to this intervention.

And the fact that you have such an opportunity to discover and claim a relationship with your child that you did not have before is just one example of how profoundly gratifying and empowering RDI® can be. But make no mistake about it. RDI® is not about gratification, it is about bringing your child into the mainstream, into the social world where we all live.
 

"RDI® is still the single most important intervention we have utilized.” “After the RDI® professional we had been working with retired, I was delighted to find Dr. Stacy Goresko to work with us. Her warm manner, sense of humor, flexibility and astute observations made her a good fit for us. As we have worked with her, I have also come to appreciate how much her background in communication gives her greater depth in the field of relationships and communication.” “I would highly recommend both RDI® and Dr. Stacy Goresko to any parent who has a child on the autism spectrum, or even a child who has those same kinds of relationship challenges.” Sherrill Strong, LCSW and parent of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome See More

What Kind of Skills Do People On The Spectrum Really Need?

Teaching academic or trade skills to people on the Spectrum is certainly helpful, however what people on the spectrum really miss are the skills needed to competently function in a social dynamic world. In the following two videos you see a boy who has a great amount of skills. See Video of Child With Skills Playing the Piano. But in the next video you will see the same boy who has no real social communicative competence and is not able to engage with his mother in a spontaneous fashion. See Another Video of the Same Child Disengaged From His Mother Reading To Him. RDI® is the only treatment program that I am aware of that addresses this critical but missing piece.

Another Important RDI® Process - Guided Participation

You know, I can go on and on telling you why I think that RDI® is the present and future wave of autism treatment but there is one other thing that I think you will find to be quite "gratifying" about RDI®. It's Affordable!! Just how affordable?

Why RDI® Is The Best Autism Intervention Value In Town!

Most traditional home-based autism treatment programs can cost anywhere from twenty to forty thousand dollars a year!! (Yes, it costs the same as a year’s college tuition). In most other treatment models you hire people to come into your home and work with you child or you have to drive them to several therapists. At the end of the week or month you owe them a huge amount of money and hope that they are doing a good job.

With RDI® the experience is very different. A year of treatment will only cost you and your family a fraction of that amount of money and this includes a very thorough assessment process, a treatment plan, and weekly consults. What is equally appealing is that you, as the parent, are investing in yourself. The money you are spending on your RDI® program is going toward right back to yourself as you learn how to become the “professional” or what I like to call the “primary treatment provider” for your own child. RDI® is based as a parent educational consultant model.

As a certified consultant, I give you, the parents the skills, tools, education you will need so that you can carry out your own program and learn how to become the “professional.” The more proficient you become, the better job I have done. So, essentially you are spending your money learning how to provide treatment to your son or daughter. Doesn’t that sound like a smart investment?

“We came to RDI® after 2 and 1/2 years of implementing a 30+ hour a week home ABA program for our son. The behavioral approach had enabled him to increase his receptive and functional language but we were saddened by his almost complete absence of social communication and a lack of facial expression and eye contact. Soon after switching our focus to developing an RDI® lifestyle we observed changes in our son: we began enjoying his company more and he started to show interest in us! We are very excited to get to know our son more and more as the years goes by.” “Stacy's insight into the hope that RDI® gives is a result of her own extensive training and background and also the successes she has had with her own son. She is non-judgmental and positive in her suggestions and ongoing review of our activities. She helps us to see our son's development as a marathon and not a sprint and to take joy in all of his small steps forward. We feel gently guided by her and not driven to action by feelings of guilt. She has certainly helped us to see that having a positive, loving relationship with our son is the foundation for his future development. RDI® has really worked in addressing our son's development as a person and we are so grateful to Stacy for her guidance.” Kimberly A Fredenburgh See More

How Do I Work With My Clients?

Another one of the great things about my RDI® Autism Services is  that
I can work with you wherever you live. I work with long distance clients all over the United States. I hope you will consider using my services when you are looking into a treatment program for your child. so no matter where you live, I can help you.

I know you may have a number of questions before making a commitment to a new Autism Intervention like RDI®. Because of that I would pleased to extend to you a Free Mini Consultation during which we can further discuss your situation. Also, for a limited period of time, I am offering a $600 Discount Off My RDI® Autism Treatment Services (Offer Expires Sept 30th, 2007).
So call me at 1 - 800 - 985 - 2940, and I will be happy to talk to you about your situation!

So please feel free to give me a call toll free today so I can answer any questions for you. My office hours are Monday - Saturday 8 am - 8 pm Mountain Standard Time.

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My Article about RDI® in the Autism Society of Colorado Newsletter