Mohit asked for his oil pastels, one evening.
I saw him spend 30 minutes just making strokes one after the other.
The 20 by 30 inches sheet looked like a beautifully lined piece in a bright cacophony of colors.

Creating repetitive strokes helps him, somehow.
The next day when he asked to paint, I shared the sheet with him and asked him if he’d like to paint on top of it.
He merrily took the sheet.

I saw him using a bright magenta, teal green and orange acrylic paint.
If you know Mo, then you know he uses those large, forceful strokes to paint.
The sheet kept moving. So he put the fingers of his left hand on the right hand corner to keep the sheet in place.

Well, the paint was wet but he insisted on holding the painting in place, with his fingers.

 

Here is the spectacular result. The little dots you see on the side are his finger marks.

 

Take a look at the close up.

 

As I reflected on his work, a deep realization hit me.
Nothing in life is ever wasted.

The strokes that formed the inner layer of the painting, actually enhanced it tenfold.

My mind was drawn to a conversation I had that morning with a family.
They seemed stressed. They had spent years and years on a language based program. All they had focussed on was developing language. When they joined one of my trainings, they were exposed to the world of building relationships and connections, rather than focussing on just speech and language.

Luckily, I was able to console them as I had seen this with so many of my students and Mohit, too.

Once we work on the core deficits of autism, things fall into place.
Children start becoming mindful. Words become meaningful and conversations become real rather than scripted.

Today I’m here to remind every mother (and father) that your efforts for your child will not go wasted.
I’ve seen this time and again on our RDI Program.

Do check out this testimonial from Rishab’s mother.

For years Rish struggled with even recognising letters . But suddenly he seemed to have picked up reading.

This is the video of simple 3 letter words with his teacher . Really pleased about this. So thought I will share it.

– Prabha (Rishab’s mother)


Watch Rishab in action.

 

Wonderful, isn’t it? I can imagine the years of work put in by Rishab’s parents and teachers. It didn’t go to waste. Building the connection (Guided Relationship) with the RDI Program tied it all together.

Here’s another account from an extremely hard working mother.

I started RDI this june 2021. Ritam was very hyper that time and motivation was zero. If I used to open any book, he used to run away. He only loves numbers.His world is only that,only doing tables and nothing productive . But within 6 months,he improved a lot.He is a fast learner. Now a days, he independently doing puja, bathing , brushing and putting dirty clothes in the washing machine putting detergent.After wash, hanging clothes without my instructions.Once in a week ( Every Friday), he is studying alone “my study day” and surprisingly I noticed whatever I taught him, he wrote all on the white board, like a revision.Was really amazed to see that.

– Sutanuka (Ritam’s mother)

And take a look at Ritam in action. Finally his love for numbers is being channeled appropriately.

 

RDI® is different from traditional autism interventions in that it does not simply attempt to mask symptoms with scripted conversations or rehearsed behaviors. Forcing our children to smile, make eye contact and perform other “normal” social behaviors does NOT teach them anything except how to fake “fitting in.” Our model allows children to build real relationships with the people in their lives and to develop the skills they need to navigate life’s challenges on their own.


– Dr Steven Gutstein (Founder, RDI Connect)


Are you struggling with your child.
Perhaps you’re reflecting on his/her progress and wondering when it will fall into place.

Take it one step at a time. Be consistent and persistent.

No matter what you’re going through- It shall pass.

And remember:

It’s time for your child to flourish, too.
Your hard work will not go to waste. Work on creating the most amazing relationship with your child.

This is my wish for you this Christmas.