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Relationship Development Intervention with Children, Adolescents and Adults | 
 enlarge | Authors: Steven E. Gutstein, Rachelle K. Sheely
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $25.35
You Save: $4.60 (15%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 251181
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 425
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 11.6 x 8.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 1843107171
Dewey Decimal Number: 618.92898203
EAN: 9781843107170
ASIN: 1843107171
Publication Date: May 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Book Description
Remove our emotional bonds with family, colleagues and friends and few of us would want to go on living. Yet establishing and maintaining such bonds is particularly difficult for people on the autism spectrum. This volume contains over 200 activities and exercises ranging over the entire gamut of social and emotional development, and is applicable to anyone, regardless of diagnosis, but will be particularly valuable for those on the autism spectrum. Activities can be undertaken independently, or with a teacher or therapist, and a full schema for the evaluation of progress and objectives is included. A companion website provides a wealth of further information and support.
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| Customer Reviews:
 There IS a theory behind this... July 20, 2005
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
In response to one of the reviews below I have to note that this program is in fact based on a very detailed and comprehensive theory. In fact it is more firmly grounded in current thinking in developomental psychology and recent research on how social development evolves, than most work in this field. Gutstein looks at both typically and atypically developing kids and doesn't base his theory only on working with autistic children. This, in my mind is the key flaw of many other approaches in this field (e.g. ABA) which base none of their approaches on how typical kids develop these skills.
In fact, Gutstein's theory is among the most coherent in the field and, as always, the question is whether the resultant interventions really follow from it and work. There is recent (2005) peer reviewed research suggesting some very significant positive outcomes for RDI, but it, like all autism research, has its flaws. Also, I have to agree that, of the two "intervention" books he has written, this one has less meat to it and is less immediately useful than the one for young children.
Gutstein's theory is laid out exceptionally well in another book - "Autism-Aspergers: Solving the Relationship Puzzle" which for some reason Amazon doesn't carry! I would say that book is an absolute must-read to understand this one, or the terms (e.g. master-apprentice) which have a very specific meaning to Gutstein will make no sense to you. For more info I would also suggest going to their wesbite at [...]
 Useful for many... February 2, 2005
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
But personally disappointing. As a thirty-year-old who has been diagnosed with both Asperger's Syndrome and NLD, I picked this up at an ASA conference expecting to find it immediately useful. Instead, I took the test at the back (which is designed for caregivers/administrators, not adults on the spectrum... why can't they do simple rewrites so we don't have to?), only to find out that I tested out as to relationally immature for this book, and should refer to the previous one in the series. Which is recommended for use with children under 8, and whose activities are decidedly not age appropriate, nor can I find a way to re-write them enough to make them so. A warning, though: RDI significantly changes the personality of the person who goes through it. In a young child, this may not be noticeable or unwanted, but in an older child or adult, you may wish to ask their permission before putting them through this very thorough and intrusive therapy. As an adult, I am uncomfortable with the changes I saw produced in people who have gone through it, and would not consider it for myself. I like the personality I have, quirks, prickles, and all. Novotni's book, "What Does Everybody Else Know That I Don't" was more immediately useful, as it contained some precise suggestions on things to do or ask that did not involve extreme changes in personality or behavior.
There still exists a major gap in literature on relational development for ADULTS on the spectrum, since even those of us who are "high-functioning" tend to be low-functioning socially. While Gutstein's Solving the Relationship Puzzle, and Gutstein and Sheely's RDI book I'm currently reviewing have shown me what developmental milestones I have yet to cross, they don't provide any practical solutions for someone my age to begin the process... unless we're already at an intermediate level I, at least, have failed to achieve.
The caveat to this is that I expect this and it's companion book to be more useful for young children, and have recommended reading them to the parents of several children that I work with as a Respite/Habilitative Care Provider and to professionals at a school for developmentally disabled children where I work as a Classroom Aide. I have found ways to modify the activities in the first book to be suitable for children up into their early teens, and recommend use of this book as a follow-up for those who have mastered the activities in book 1.
 My daughter is feeling and saying things never said before!! June 22, 2003
24 out of 25 found this review helpful
I read this book thinking it "sounded" good but how could I use the info its seems quite complex and overwhelming. THen I attended one of Dr G's conferences and realized the book was never meant to stand alone!!! It is needed to progress and have a reference for the stages as you do them but RDI requires coaching and support. Ill tell you from me and many families who have done it, it has been the one thing that finally tackles the issues no other methodology can!!! We have been doing it for merely 2 months with an agency certifying throught DR G's practice and we have experienced spine tingling miracles. Most importantly it has made my daughter EASY to take ANYWHERE better than any ABA or VB has. In all honesty we have used many different methods, PRT, ABA, DIR-Floortime, Incidental Learning, You name it weve been there. But the commonality is that they still all allow the child to stay in their comfort zone- they are basically child centered approaches. This method MAKES your child come out of their shell, forces them through mutual enjoyment and love for the interaction to allow themselves to be lead.
The residual of all of the other methods was that they left my child having a hard time KEEPING friends due to her need to control situations (PRT and flootime) or be depended on adults to always allow for things to happen (ABA). THis changes all of it!! Not only is she beginning to appreciate and read social cues in just the mere first level of this method, but she is asking more age appropriate why questions and asking about things that happened to her when she was NONVERBAL!!! Her school is on board and wanting to do this and we know we cant stop. I highly recomend looking at this book and then going to a conference or purchasing their video, or even check out their website. (connectionscenter.com)YOU HAVE TO SEE IT IN ACTION!! And My prayers and blessings of frutiion to all!!!
 Esoteric tone overwhelms the practical suggestions March 16, 2003
40 out of 60 found this review helpful
My overall impression of this book is that is contrived and forced in places. The book is structured around a layered model of progress; essentially progressing the student from the lowest level of competence on through higher levels. One might presume that the authors were stuck for a teaching metaphor and grabbed the apprentice-expert metaphor as scaffolding on which to hang the lessons. The book is replete with various lesson plans and tactics for enagaging the AS person's interest. To be fair, a reasonable amount of what is here is worthwhile reading and reflecting on - once you filter out the esotericism of much of the language.
However, the book seems to stumble as it tries to fill its 400 odd pages with 'advanced' lesson plans. Some of the section titles made me wonder was this a case of Asperger Syndrome meets Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The AS subject moves through Novice, Apprentice, Challenger, Voyager and Partner levels as just one example. There are sublevels within each of these. Finding one's unique idenitity and place in the environment etc, are major objectives.
The tenor of a lot of this, for me at least, verged on almost cultish twaddle. I prefer a reasonable scientific tenor to any behavioural modification programme. However, others may find the book's approach illuminating and helpful.
The book emphasises coaching and that the real business of interventions is coaching. My problem with this is that it doesn't tie coaching into any particular theory - though if you take one of the authors' RDI courses presumably the theory will be revealed. There is a growing emphasis on putting intervention programmes on some sort of scientific footing, and it behooves the authors of such programmes to produce the goods on the worth of their offerings. I would recommend looking at Succeeding with Interventions for Asperger Syndrome Adolescents for a different approach.
The latter sections of the book, in my opinion, presume a lot of the AS subject. In particular the use of others to faciliate interaction, learn about emotions and generally mediate social interactions is just not a an easy thing to acomplish with an AS subject. The 'partner' that turns up today may not be there tomorrow. So how do you coach an AS teenager to fall back on there own resources?
The authors state that the book is suitable for use by parents, adolescents and adults, teachers and therapists (not many left out there). Personally I found this to be the most questionable claim of the whole book. How on Earth can it be a manual satisfying the requirements of such different audiences. It is verging on cyncical to suggest it has so much to offer to so many.
In conclusion, there are aspects of the book that are useful and other aspects that I found incongrous, if not downright peculiar. If I had a larger budget, I would definitely prefer Kathleen Quill's book, Do-Watch-Listen-Say even though it is not explicitly aimed at adolescents, and couple it with one of the Boystown Teaching Basic Social Skills to Youth as a more convincing pair. It is a personal choice, and different people may have different requirements.
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