Relationship Development Intervention is a therapy program for individuals who have Autism Spectrum Disorder and is based on the belief that the development of “dynamic intelligence” is key to improving the quality of life by learning how to have relationships and independence.

Relationship Development Intervention has been developed by Dr. Steven Gutstein who studies the means on how typical children become competent in the world through emotional relationships. He studies research in developmental psychology and found that early parent-infant interaction predicted later abilities in language, thinking and social development.

Neural underconnectivity (wiring of the brain) in people with autism spectrum disorder will often lead to a rigid and static view of the world because of dislike of change and inability to cope with new information. It has been found that people with autism do not develop “dynamic intelligence” which means being able to think flexibly, take different perspectives, cope with change, process information simultaneously and take into to account multiple factors during decision making. These skills and abilities are essential for real-world interactions.

Typical children develop dynamic intelligence by being guided and given challenges by their caregivers. Children having social difficulties due to Autism or other neurological etiologies do not develop relationship skills. These individuals require support to learn how to build relationships in a deliberate approach. This population needs to learn how to make references to people around them, share emotions and use experience-sharing language to build close and trusting relationships and cope with the uncertainly of life events. Relationship Development Intervention provides therapeutic approaches to help close this gap and build relationships.

There are 6 objectives for Relationship Development

1. Emotional Referencing is the ability to use emotional feedback to learn from emotional experiences of others.
2. Social Coordination is the ability to observe and continually regulate one's behavior in order to participate in spontaneous relationships involving collaboration and exchange of emotions.
3. Declarative Language is using verbal and non-verbal communication to express curiosity, invite others to interact, share feelings and coordinate with others.
4. Flexible thinking is the ability to quickly adapt, change strategies and alter plans based on changing circumstances.
5. Relational Information Processing is the ability to obtain meaning based on the bigger picture within the context, and being able to solve problems that do not have a clear answer.
6. Foresight and Hindsight is the ability to reflect on past experiences and anticipate possible future situations.