The Right Kind of Memory

We often hear that children on the Autism Spectrum have a spectacular memory. How is your child's memory? The trick about memory is figuring out if your child remembers the "right things." What do we mean by "right things?" Well, for each of us, we are able to use past experiences that we have encountered to help us on new future endeavors. This is called our episodic memory.


In a four article series, RDI Consultant Linda Murphy wrote about what it means to have an EPISODIC MEMORY, and how to tell if our child does or not. For the next four Thursdays, find her article here on our blog from RDI Connect. Here is the first section:

"Imagine this: you spend the day in Boston with a friend. You take the T there, walk around Faneuil Hall, do a little shopping on Newbury Street, have lunch in the North End and visit the swan boats in the Public Garden. In that one day, the memories formed and memories used span a variety of topics. You probably remember the things that you talked about with your friend or the laughter that you shared, more than you remember any particular item that you looked at while shopping. Or you probably remember how good your meal tasted, but maybe not the other items that were listed on the menu. Maybe when you got to the swan boats there was a line and you used your memories of waiting in other lines to appraise how long you might need to wait in this line. Each of these memories is an example of episodic memory.

Episodic memory refers to one’s autobiographical memory. As we move and do things throughout our life, we are creating a story about ourselves. We use this self narrative to share our experiences with others and to negotiate new situations in the future. Without memories to pull from, the world would be a scary place; any new situation would leave us feeling lost. With episodic memory, we can enter a new situation and figure out what to do because we remember a similar situation from our past. Now imagine you took that same trip to Boston with a child who has ASD. His memories may instead be the names of the T stops you rode through, how loud the restaurant was and the anxiety he felt waiting in line to go on the swan boats because he didn’t know how long he was going to have to wait. What is meaningful moment-to-moment to a child with ASD may be different from what is meaningful to another person. Instead of forming memories that will later help with problem solving and planning, a child with ASD may be forming memories that lead to fear of the unknown. Developing episodic memory is difficult for people with autism, yet it is a critical skill needed for living an independent, happy and stress free life. It is also one of the foundations of the RDI® Program."

To read the entire article by Linda Murphey click here

October Newsletter: Growing Up

DO YOU RECEIVE OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER? During the last week of every month, we send out a monthly newsletter that has some great information about RDI and how it can help your family. Here is an article from our October edition:

Growing Up...

As children grow up into young adults, new concerns arise for parents and the reality of life as an adult with autism takes center stage.  Here are some thoughts from one RDI mom about her experience of raising her child with autism.  She listed a few concerns that you may be able to relate to or are about to soon face.  One major concern was her child’s future independence and what can she specifically do to foster that autonomy.  This included how can her daughter seek and maintain employment, develop lasting relationships, and navigate this complex world.

Another thought she had about her daughter for the future was the ability to be more assertive.  Can she advocate for herself, can she protect herself from wrong doings, and can she pursue her desires?  Finally, she stated that she wants her daughter to be a competent decision maker.  Can she use experiences and prior knowledge in order to make a decision that will guide her in the right direction?

These three points have one thing in common, dynamic intelligence.  Dynamic intelligence allows the child to problem solve, develop relationship tools, and the ability to navigate the ever-changing social world.  These skills don’t come naturally for children on the spectrum and take a great deal of work from the parents, but with the right guidance and support, children with autism can become productive adults.

If you are interested in receiving our monthly newsletter, please email eric@pryorconsulting.net

Family Meeting

Have you ever thought about calling a family meeting with your family as a whole? Sue Simmons, a RDI Consultant, often suggests it as one of the key elements in strengthening family relationships. This is a great way to bring the family together to work on a common goal.

Here are some goal ideas:
- Creating a sense of belonging to your children
- Hearing and validating the opinions that your children have
- Reinforce family values
- Celebrate your child's accomplishments
- Talk about the upcoming week


The most important thing to remember is to start and end your meeting positively, even if there is a touchy subject to discuss in between. Click here to read more about how to structure your meeting from Sue.

leaf collecting

Have the leaves changed colors yet in your neighborhood? It is the perfect opportunity to go out for a walk with your child! Take a bag with you and turn it into RDI time as you collect items together along your walk.


How can you make a simple walk around the neighborhood into productive RDI time?

- Collect all sorts of different leaves - different colors, shapes, and sizes, talking about each of them as you find them. Make sure that you find some and your child finds some so you are both contributing to the game. Also, point out interesting things and interesting people that you see to your child.

- Gather leaves for a project - After you have gathered your different leaves and returned home from your walk, make an art project with them using colored paper, glue, tape, markers, paint, or any other fun art supplies! This is a perfect activity to do together with your child!

AD/HD

Do you know someone with AD/HD? We are often asked questions relating to AD/HD behavior management. If you have a child with AD/HD, a tip to remember is:

Even with medication, we cannot expect a child or person to control a certain behavior. Instead of expecting them to control a behavior, it is important to teach them how to manage the behavior so that it is not effecting someone else. For example, teaching them how to fidget in a quiet way or switching to doodling instead. It still fulfills that behavior, but instead the child or person is managing the behavior.

For more information about ADHD behavior management, click here to read Dr. Steven Gutstein's article "ADHA Behavior Management: From control to regulation" on RDI Connect

The Halloween Isle: A Personal Story

Do you enjoy reading PERSONAL STORIES from our local RDI families? Becca, one of our local RDI moms wrote a great example of what she has learned from being a RDI parent and her experience with her son. Read her personal story below:

The Halloween Isle

by: Becca

            Over the past year I have learned a lot as a RDI mom, and I have watched my 5 year-old son change so much. Last year around this time I would go down the Halloween isle and make my son stand by me and look at everything. He was scared by any of the decorations that looked scary or made noise and it was hard for me to watch. I felt like I needed to “break” him of this behavior so he wouldn’t be scared anymore. In doing this, I would stand in the isle and push all of the noise buttons and make him listen to them, hoping that he would learn to like it.

            After doing RDI over this past year I have learned that I don’t need to “break” my son of scary experiences, and instead, I can create an environment where he feels more in control. I have found that if my son is given a choice, he feels much more comfortable doing anything new. I try to expose him to many new experiences and point out other children who are having fun, but then I allow him to choose if he wants to participate or not.

            Having this new mentality, walking down the Halloween isle at the store this year was completely different. When I noticed the Halloween displays out in the store, I took my son and slowly walked down the isle pointing out what I saw. Instead of pushing any of the buttons or only talking about the scary-looking decorations, I only talked about things I saw and didn’t try force anything on him. I was surprised when we were in the middle of the isle and my son paused for a minute. He then turned to me and said, “Hey mom, let’s try to push this button to see what noise it makes.” I was completely shocked.

            Having this new “RDI mentality” has helped so much in our home and I am finding that we have similar moments to that at the store more often. This summer I felt like my son was a completely different kid as he wanted to try big water-slides, play in the ocean, and build sand castles. Now I am able to look at everything in a new way. Everything last year was a huge fight, and now it is completely different.

Traveling Tips

Do you enjoy traveling but feel that can be difficult with special needs children? Autism World Magazine published a wonderful article written by RDI Consultant Maisie Soetantyo in the September edition about traveling with special needs children.

Soetantyo discusses two excellent books that she finds helpful to families - "Autism & Travel" and "A Travel Resource for Parents of Children with Special Needs" written by Jesemine Jones and Ida Keiper. These two writers were the founders of the "Starry Night Travel," a travel agency based in New York that specializes in helping parents who have special needs children plan a getaway. These books cover many areas and questions for parents to consider before and during their trips - safety, airport security, adapting to new environments.

Soetantyo covers four main areas to think about while planning a vacation:

1. Thinking Ahead

2. Getting Ready

3. The Goal Beneath the Goal

4. Travel Activities

Soetantyo also does a fabulous job walking through different scenarios and how to make RDI productive and fun while traveling.  Some of her ideas include:

- Walking

- Trying new hobbies

- Collecting momentos

- Map reading

- Packing and unpacking

Click here to read the entire article from Autism World Magazine published on RDI Connect

Gardner Villiage WitchFest

Have you ever been to Gardner Village? During the entire month of October they have witches that are out on display scattered around Gardner Village for the public to enjoy for free. This is a perfect opportunity to take your child on a "RDI field trip" that you can both enjoy.

Gardner Village

1100 West 7800 South

West Jordan, Utah

Once you're there, how do you make this experience into RDI so that it is different from any normal day outing? Here are two ways to assure a productive experience:

1. Plan ahead - As you're planning this outing, the most important thing to think about it time. Make sure that you schedule out a couple of hours free so that the time you spend together is not rushed, and you can just enjoy the moment. This will have a HUGE effect on how productive your outing will be. If your child feels rushed or that he/she is just there for a "quick look" at the witches, your overall experience will be a lot different than if you plan to calmly enjoy this experience. You may not use all of the time that you have set aside to look at witches, but think of what else you could do with your child to fill the remaining time.

2. Go with a purpose - As you're preparing for this RDI field trip with your child, have a "rough draft" plan in mind of what you think might be the most successful with your child. With your plan being a "rough draft," it will often change and that's okay.

RDI "rough draft" ideas:
- Walk around together and talk about the different things you see. Point out interesting things and interesting people that you see to your child. Also, discuss past events that may connect to what you are currently seeing. (ex: That witch looks just like Grandma did last year in her costume at our Halloween party. Grandma had on purple striped socks just like that witch does!)

- Witch scavenger hunt. Once you arrive at Gardner Village, pick up the scavenger hunt list and see if you and your child can find all of the witches together. Make this an activity of you two walking around working together.

- Walk around and take pictures with each witch. Bring a camera with you on your field trip, and take pictures with each witch. When you get home, print out the pictures, and make a book with your child to remember the fun experiences that you had together. Use colored paper, scissors, glue, tape, markers, and any other fun craft supplies.

We hope you enjoy your RDI field trip this month with your child. If you'd like to share your experience with us, we would love to hear about it!

How RDI Changed Our Lives

Do you enjoy reading personal stories of how RDI has changed people's lives? RDI Mom Sharon-Bradbrook Armit from the UK wrote a beautiful story of her family's experiences. 

Click here to read the entire story on RDI Connect