welcome image

"Unexpressed feeling never die. They are buried alive and come back later in ugly ways." (Stephen Covey)

The best inheritance  parents can give their children is a few minutes of their time each day.

You cannot reason with someone who is being unreasonable.

Parenting style matters - a lot!

If it  was going to be easy to raise kids, it never would have started with something called "labour".

Wouldn't it be nice if children would simply listen and learn.

Relationships matter:  change comes through forming trusting relationships. People, not programs change people.

Some hope their children will be like sponges soaking up the truth and wisdom imparted by their parents. However appealing this philosophy might be, it seldom seems to catch on with their children.

Adolescence can be the cruelest place on earth. It can really be heartless.  ( Tori Amos)

When a child is disregulated - is the time parents need to be regulated.

Learn more.

Reading Rescue – theory – part 1

    There are 2 basic approaches to teaching reading: phonics based whole language The traditional theory of learning established in the 19th century draws on the notion that children need to break down a complex skill into its smallest components and then put the components together to perform the complex skill. Example – the complex skill of skiing The components of skiing: putting boots and skis on walking on level, snow covered ground with […]

Read complete blog post

Can You Read This?

I cdnuolt bleveiee taht I cluod aulaaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdenieg. The phaonemneal pweor of the hmuan mndi. Aodccrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dnsoe’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotle mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porblem. Tihs is bcuseae the hmuan mnid […]

Read complete blog post

Reading Rescue

    “Reading Rescue” is a program I developed that is intended for those children who are not experiencing success in their ability to read in the early grades. It is a highly structured and sequential phonics based reading program that teaches: the sounds of individual letters the skill of blending 2 sounds together, then 3, then 4, then . .to make individual words focuses initially on the “short” vowel words the combining of words […]

Read complete blog post

The Terror of Night Terrors

    Few things are more terrifying for a parent than the first time their child has a night terror. Night terrors are different than bad dreams or nightmares. Bad dreams and nightmares happen to virtually everybody and occur during the REM sleep phase (rapid eye movement). Researchers have discovered that even fetuses have dreams – including “bad” ones. Bad dreams may cause facial grimaces, moving, thrashing about and may result in being wakened up. […]

Read complete blog post

Asperger’s Syndrome (part 2)

      There are no “hard” diagnostic tests for Asperger’s. The diagnosis is made through observation and reports from parents, teachers, etc. The majority of children with Asperger’s are diagnosed between the ages of 5 and 11 although a diagnosis may not be made until adulthood. There is no “cure” for Asperger’s Syndrome, however there are interventions that can yield positive results: parental education teacher education behavioural approaches training of social skills (ABA,IBI) medications […]

Read complete blog post


Back to Top

Workshops

+ Behaviour Management (now available online)

This full day or 2 evening workshop will introduce you […]

Learn more

+ A Parent’s Guide to the Teenage Brain

  A teenager’s brain is not just an adult brain […]

Learn more

+ Reading Rescue

A program for children with reading problems

Learn more

+ A Guided Tour of ADHD (now available online)

This workshop will present the facts, myths, misconceptions, controversy and […]

Learn more

See more of our workshops


Contact

2720 Rath Street, Putnam, Ontario
NOL 2BO

Phone: (519) 485-4678
Fax: (519) 485-0281

Email: info@rickharper.ca

Archive


Parents' Comments

“We were so naive. We thought our son’s poor behaviour was just a phase he was passing through. Thankfully you led us ‘out of the wilderness'”

(N.S. – London)