Methods of Modifying - Relationship Development intervention Flashcards
(9 cards)
What is it?
A cognitive behavioural therapy developed by Gutstein and Sheely
(2002)
• Developed in order to address the social and communication
difficulties those with ASD have
• This therapy aims to modify the child’s perceptions of other people’s
thoughts and feelings
How?
Those with ASD have ‘missed’ development skills that children usually
reach without special intervention
• These skills allow typically developing children to initiate a
spontaneous conversation or share a joke with someone
• These skills are usually learnt through interacting with their parents
however, the interaction impairments in those with ASD mean that
the relationship between parent and child has to be reconstructed
in a more planned way
Dynamic intelligence
This is the ability to think flexibly, to consider events from different
points of view, to apply common sense reasoning, to have emotional
intelligence
• The caregiver is trained to change the patterns of interaction in
everyday activities
Evolves throughout our lifetime
• Allows us to adapt to an increasingly complex, continually changing
world
• Allows us to cope with change, to integrate information from multiple
sources (sights, sounds)
Objectives of RDI
Main purpose is to develop the childs dynamic intelligence in 6 areas
- emotional referencing
- social coordination
-declarative language - flexible thinking
- relational information processing
- foresight and hindsight
Process of RDI
A trained, qualified and approved RDI consultant works closely with the family
• The consultant and the family meet once or twice a week to establish aims, plan
activities and evaluate progress in terms of the 6 objectives of RDI
• Parents may video some of the everyday interactions with their child for the consultant
to assess
• Parents also attend workshops to develop their skills and meet with others using the
treatment
• Later in the process, the child is paired with another child undergoing RDI locally so that
they can both apply their skills
• More children are then placed together to form a small group
• The child’s progress is monitored and the family’s interactions are reassessed every 6 -12
months
• Parents, teachers and other caretakers apply the principles of RDI in the childs life
Evaluation - effectiveness
Gutstein et al (2007) assessed the effects on
children following RDI for 2 years
• 15 children were being taught in special
education classrooms, only 3 of them
continued to be taught like this afterwards
• 14 of the children were assessed as being in
the ‘autism range’ before the programme, but
only 2 afterwards
• Children became significantly more socially
related, engaged in more reciprocal
communication, functioned in school settings
with less adult participation, and also were
perceived by parents as behaving in a
dramatically more flexible and dramatic manner
However
• Gutstein et al were responsible for the
actual therapy programme and this is
a way of promoting RDI. There may
have been some bias due to this
conflict of interest
Ethics
Caregivers that have tried RDI with
their children, have found it to be
effective and some even describe it
as ‘life changing’
This does suggest that using RDI
increases the quality of life for the
whole family, reducing pressures
they may feel to improve
communication, to increase their
happiness
Ethics - Weakness
As there is little support for the
effectiveness of RDI, is it acceptable to
promote this as a successful treatment?
• It could be argued that this is offering
families false hope
Support for RDI comes from Gutstein
himself. Why is this an issue?
• Is it acceptable to use research to support
your own therapy programme? Is this
nothing more than free promotion for the
programme? It may be argued that there
is a blurring of the boundaries between
conducting research and marketing a
profitable product
Social Implications
RDI is a branded and trademarked programme with legal protections for its owners. It is run
commercially for profit and widely recognised as an expensive treatment. In the first year,
alone RDI could cost up to £3,250 and treatment generally, lasts 3 years or longer. This
makes RDI a major financial commitment.
RDI was first introduced 25 years ago and yet there are few studies to demonstrate how
effective it is, in modifying autistic spectrum behaviours. Studies that have been carried out,
have been of poor quality (due to lack of control group).
- no way to see if it is effective for child and help them in wider society
