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Children today are under enormous pressures rarely experienced by their parents or grandparents. Many of today's children are being enticed to grow up too quickly and are encountering challenges for which they are totally unprepared.

If you are headed in the wrong direction as a parent - you are allowed to make a U-turn.

The quickest way to change your child’s behaviour is to first change your own.

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

"Parents aren't the cause of ADHD, but they are part of the solution." (Kenny Handleman, M.D.)

Hurt people hurt people.

The more 2 parents differ in their approaches to discipline, the more likely it leads to trouble for the child.

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

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

The mistake that Sharon and I both made is we never set any boundaries.  (Ozzy Osbourne)

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Diagnostic Criteria for ADD/ADHD

The following is a summary of the criteria in DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and describes what doctors look for when diagnosing ADD or ADHD.

A. INATTENTION ( the individual must display 6 or more of these characteristics)

  1. makes careless mistakes
  2. difficulty sustaining attention
  3. doesn’t seem to listen
  4. does not finish schoolwork, chores or duties
  5. difficulty organizing tasks and activities
  6. avoids tasks that require sustained mental effort
  7. easily distracted
  8. forgetful

and/or

B. HYPERACTIVITY/IMPULSIVITY- (must display 6 or more of the following)

  1. often fidgets with hands or feet – squirms in seat
  2. often “out of seat”
  3. often runs about or climbs excessively
  4. has difficulty playing quietly
  5. often “on the go” as if “driven by a motor”
  6. often talks excessively
  7. often blurts out answers
  8. often has difficulty waiting turn
  9. often interrupts or intrudes on others

C. SYMPTOMS PRESENT BEFORE AGE OF 7

D. SYMPTOMS PRESENT IN 2 OR MORE SETTINGS (SCHOOL, HOME,WORK)

E. CLEAR EVIDENCE OF SIGNIFICANT IMPAIRMENT IN SOCIAL, ACADEMIC OR             OCCUPATIONAL FUNCTIONING

F. SYMPTOMS ARE NOT BETTER ACCOUNTED FOR BY ANOTHER MENTAL DISORDER

A diagnosis of ADD/ADHD can only be made by a medical doctor or a psychologist.

What distinguishes ADD/ADHD is the number of behaviours, their intensity and duration.

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Workshops

+ Behaviour Management (now available online)

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

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+ Lick Your Kids

  “Lick Your Kids” (figuratively not literally) (2 hours) First […]

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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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+ Taming a Toddler

Many parents wonder what hit them when their sweet little baby turns into an unreasonable toddler – ideas for dealing with mealtime, bedtime, temper tanturms, toilet training, noncompliance, etc.

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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

“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)