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Criticism is not a motivator.

Setting limits teaches your children valuable skills they will use the rest of their lives. One day, they will report to a job where their ability to follow rules will dictate their success.

"The thing that impresses me most about North America is the way parents obey their children"    (King Edward VII , 1841-1910)

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

"Cutting" is a visible sign to the world that you are hurting.

Simple rules adhered to when children are young can prevent more serious problems later.

It's more effective to reward your child for being "good" (appropriate) than to punish him for being "bad" (inappropriate).

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

The challenge of adolescence is to balance the right of the parents to feel they are in charge with the need of the adolescent to gain independence.

It is what we say and do when we're angry that creates the very model our children will follow when dealing with their own frustrations.

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Stimulant Meds for ADHD

Stimulant medications (eg. Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, Focalin, Dexedrine, Metadate, Methylin, Vyvanse) are the mainstay of medical treatment for ADHD. They have proven quite effective in controlling the symptoms of ADHD with relatively minor and manageable side effects.

There is however some disturbing findings coming from research initiated at Harvard Medical School by Dr. William Carlezon. Investigators have discovered that juvenile laboratory animals given stimulant medications display a loss of motivation when they grow up. These animals look normal, but they are lazy. Further investigations at the Univ. of Michigan, Medical School of South Carolina, Univ. of Pittsburgh, Brown Univ., Tufts Univ. and UCLA as well as schools in Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands have concluded that exposing young animals to these medications – even at low doses for short periods of time – can cause permanent damage to the nucleus accumbens, the part of the brain that is responsible for translating motivation into actions. (Dr. Leonard Sax – Boys Adrift – Basic Books 2007)

These studies are still in the early stages. The risks are not proven. Researchers do not know for sure whether the damage caused in the brains of animal also occur in children who take the same meds.

Stay tuned.

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Workshops

+ Behaviour Management (now available online)

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

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+ A Parent’s Guide to the Teenage Brain

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

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+ Reading Rescue

A program for children with reading problems

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+ A Guided Tour of ADHD (now available online)

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

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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

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Parents' Comments

“I wish we had found Rick 2 years ago. We could have saved ourselves and our son a lot of trouble.”

(T.T. – Byron)