Testimonials

BUILDING PATHWAYS TESTIMONIALS

** Tara, it's always great having your help, you are so natural in your interactions with my son! This allows him to really open up. He doesn't feel threatened because he doesn't see you as someone who is trying to "fix him".  Your excellent consultative skills allow you to effectively communicate insights and share with me strategies and techniques that I need not only in helping him meet his RDI goals, but also that enable us to have richer father-son interactions.   In our last consultation I was really impressed with how you skillfully probed to get to the root of why he wasn't demonstrating consistent mastery of several Stage 1 objectives.  Your skill and persistence paid off as both he and I now understand that he is over-compensating with his hearing for what he doesn't want to challenge his vision with, and we can focus on working to bring this back into balance. 

You are so awesome at what you do!  You have always impressed me with your confidence and your desire to learn beyond RDI, to stay on top of this ever growing body of knowledge on Autism.  It is obvious you're in this profession not just with your mind but with your heart too. 

Sincerely,

Andrei Novac

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**When we were lost in scientific interventions and swimming in irrelevant data, Tara and RDI helped us re-focus our efforts on what is most important: addressing our child's specific social deficits, and helping him enjoy and appreciate the people around him, including us.

Our child is a more aware and happy and we are better parents and guides for him because of the principles and approaches Tara has introduced to us over the years.  We strongly encourage you to give RDI a try.  It truly changed our quality of life for the better.

Pam and Jeff, Sandy

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**My son has made such significant gains in the last 2 years with Tara and the RDI program that his sister remarked, "His autism is going away!"

Lisa

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**RDI has been a good intervention for our son. It has helped him move  

from having few social skills and being isolated at school, to interacting with friends and having play dates and sleepovers. He has become more aware of his environment, what others are feeling, and how he fits in. Because of his progress through RDI, few people now suspect his diagnosis of autism.

Park City, Utah

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**I wanted to take a few minutes to share the profound changes that have occurred since we began RDI with you in November 2008.  We began ABA therapy approximately one year ago when Nicole was 2 ½ years old.  Initially, we noted some improvements (especially in speech) as she was speaking very little up to this point.  While we saw some obvious progress, intuitively we felt the nature of her malady was not being addressed and ABA, by design, was too mechanical. We could not pinpoint what would work, but we felt very strongly we needed to change directions.  We began RDI with Tara based solely on the recommendation of our speech therapist. 

                We attended the RDI parent training conference in late October and had our first meeting with Tara in late November.  Nicole had very little social interaction of any kind with my wife and I as well with her peers.  Nicole had many of the classic autistic traits that I would best describe as a wall of bulletproof glass between her and the rest of the world.  Her anxiety level was almost a constant and I would say she experienced very little joy in the first 2 ½ years of her life.   What has happened to our little girl since has been profound.

In less than five months, our lives and Nicole's life have changed so dramatically it is hard to express it all without sounding like an infomercial.  I can say, unequivocally, that Nicole is an extremely happy child and her anxiety is all but gone. The videos and the time we spend "working" with here prove that.  The best part of ABA was teaching us diligence that we have transferred to RDI with incredible results.  I can spend hours myself with Nicole and watch her experience true joy as her dynamic intelligence and social progress continue to improve at a pace which is astounding to us.  She is currently enrolled in Challenger school, plays t-ball on a team with 3-5 year olds and her Asperger's is not discernable to anyone else as far as we can tell.  RDI is a lifelong commitment that we will participate in without question.  Tara, obviously we believe your direction and expertise are why Nicole has had such a dramatic quantifiable success in such a short time. 

Sincerely,

Dave and Michelle Merhi

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**Being diagnosed with Autism is devastating. Shortly after diagnosis we were directed to RDI, which has changed our lives. First it explains so well, what Autism really is, and why they act as they do. Knowledge alone is a gift. Second Tara has kindly and patiently taught us how to

parent our child the right way. We saw huge improvements with Wilson the first month and they have continued to sky rocket. After one year our son is doing so well we question if he is still on the spectrum.    He has gone from self abusive behavior, isolation, limited speech, repetitive behavior to being social, engaging, curious, considerate. I feel so strongly that RDI was the answer, no the miracle for us!

Amber and Jason Cole

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**Before working with Tara and the RDI program our toddler son had a wall of negativity around him that we couldn't break through. We were losing all connection with him and couldn't get him to stop darting away from us and screaming. I really had no idea what to do and was in crisis. Thankfully I happened to find Tara and the RDI program through a colleague, and within weeks we were on the road to remediating the core deficits of his autism. We have been doing RDI for 3 years working with Tara exclusively, and our son now attends a regular classroom with his friends whom he enjoys many play dates with. He is open to learning new things at school and at home, he has compassion and is very concerned with the feelings of others. He is able to join in stage performances at school, has a great sense of humor, and can do many things that I never thought he would try in a million years! His diagnosis has gone from middle of the road classic autism to very high functioning and barely detectable. I can't say enough about this program and how it saved my son! Now I feel empowered to handle this, and I know things will be ok, and as Tara would say, "That is HUGE!". :) THANK YOU!!

-A very thankful anonymous mother of an outstanding, inspiring 5 year old boy

**'RDI has changed our lives forever. We now know that our daughter with ASD can and will succeed in life if we give her the chance. RDI is that chance. Tara is ready to put as much into helping our family as we are. She is a positive and motivating force in our lives.'

-Anonymous

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**"Our son was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder at just 17 months old.  The traditional therapies we used until he was two years old were helpful, but nothing changed remarkably until we began the Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) with Tara Moffat.  Under Tara's confident guidance and with her enduring optimism, our son was transformed from a boy who seemed to want to have little to do with anything except his toys, to a little boy filled with love and enthusiasm for his relationships with his family and friends.  We are forever grateful to RDI and Tara Moffat!"

Family in Utah

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** Tara is the only one who has helped our son have a life! It’s just as important that she teaches that the family should have a life too.  Awareness has been the first area we have seen relating to his progress.  It is fun to see him take that step.

-Alison