Family Stories (continued from sidebar)

"We were introduced to RDI by another family a year ago, and referred to Sue. In learning about the RDI principles, it just totally made sense! It was like we were able to finally grasp the missing key to help us unlock what we always knew was there, and we eagerly committed to giving it a try. It has been an amazing and challenging year and we have witnessed some huge gains and changes in our connection with our son. Sue has been a wonderful consultant throughout this first year, always full of encouragement and insightful guidance. We know this is only the beginning of a long journey, but we finally feel confident that we are now on the right path."

Tia and Dave, Oshawa, ON

"When our son was diagnosed with autism I began looking everywhere for “the answer”. We spent the first 3 years of his life feeling frustrated,
confused and stressed out…unsure why everything was SO difficult. The
diagnosis almost came as a relief - we weren’t crazy, and we weren’t just
terrible parents that simply couldn’t control their child.

Shortly after his diagnosis a family member mentioned RDI® to us. We
looked into it, and this is when we met Sue. The words Sue used to
describe RDI to me during that phone meeting ring in my ears to this day.
She said “RDI makes you feel like a competent parent again”. We were
hooked.

Nearly two years later we have gone through the parent training and are
happily in Stage 3 of the program. RDI has indeed restored our feelings
of competence and more importantly, our son’s feelings of competence. Bit
by bit we have reconnected with our son through various activities that we
would never ever dream of doing with him, had it not been for RDI. We
have seen the “wheels” turning in his head and can practically see the
neural connections taking place in front of our eyes. We feel that unlike
other therapies, RDI addresses the person and not simply rote skills.
Things I worried he would not be capable of - he is. Things I thought
we’d never do as a family – we are.

There is no doubt that RDI is a journey. There are no “quick fixes” where
autism is concerned. But this is a journey worth taking, and we can’t
imagine our lives without it."

Carolyn and Paul, Whitby, ON

"We can still remember our first conversation with Sue. We took 2 ½ pages of notes… she told us some pretty remarkable things. I remember her saying that kids on the spectrum seek out new and different experiences as a result of RDI. That was something we never saw with our then 8 year-old son; we had no idea how ingrained his routine was at the time, but we knew he liked things to remain the same.

Despite the claims of the RDI Program we were not yet sold – but we were curious, so we ordered Dr. Gutstein’s Introduction video, Going to the Heart of Autism. What he said made so much sense. We began RDI with Sue in the fall of 2007, and we have not looked back.

Our son has gone through some remarkable changes in the past 2 years. He now engages regularly with his sister and plays with friends at school. He has two good friends who like to come over, and he even helps out around the house. There are so many moments now when my husband and I look at each other and comment, “That was such a normal-kid thing to do!” He even fights with his sister now…ironically, we love it!

Sue is an excellent teacher. She lives and breathes RDI, but she is a real person and a parent who has fought the same battles we are fighting.
She understands how to incorporate RDI at a fundamental level, and has a unique ability to show us how RDI objectives can be brought into to real life, so we feel like what we’re doing is meaningful and productive. She is professional, punctual and positive. She is an inspiration to work with and can really pick us up when we feel like we’re stuck.

We still have the notes we took from our first conversation with Sue almost 2 years ago. The possibilities she told us about - which seemed unreachable at the time, have now become a reality for us.

Thank you Sue."

Leisa and Jim, Mississauga, ON