Unlocking Autism
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| Anne Kelly |
| 4/14/2008 |
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| Nearly 150 parents of children with autism and professionals who work with them met at the Ramkota Hotel today to learn about what`s been called the "missing link" in the treatment of autism. Because one in every 238 children in North Dakota is autistic and the number continues to rise, learning how to effectively treat the disorder is of growing importance. That`s why the Anne Carlsen Center of Children is hosting a conference which focuses on a treatment method called Relationship Development Intervention. The severity of autism ranges from person to person, but the Autism Society of America says regardless of the severity, children with autism can learn to function normally and show improvement with appropriate treatment. That`s where Relationship Development Intervention or RDI comes in. "What kids on the spectrum are lacking is that social piece, they don`t really know how to connect with other people," says Dr. Stacy Goresko, an RDI Specialist. "We`re interested in re-establishing that fundamental connection, which is the foundation of all human interaction, that back and forth piece between a mother, father and a child." Dr.Goresko specializes in teaching RDI, a method of treatment that focuses on increasing a child`s communicative skills with the help of the parents. "RDI is really for parents who want to be involved, who want to be engaged, because we as RDI consultants help parents become the professionals so instead of having someone come in and work with your child for 20 hours or 40 hours, I work with a parents each week for an hour or two," Dr. Goresko says. She works with parents and professionals to let them know they should be treating the core issues of autism, such as not being socially connected to others, rather than the symptoms of autism like having a limited vocabularly. And despite the fact that Relationship Development Intervention was today`s focus, no one is able to pinpoint one specific type of treatment as the cure-all method for autism. LaDonna Dohlstrom has a 21-year-old son with autism and says he`s smarter than most people but has no way to communicate his brain power. "When they say `unlocking autism` I`m not sure we`ll ever have a master key for it, but there`s hope," Dohlstrom says. Relationship Development Intervention has been around as a method of treatment for autism for the past 25 years. |
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