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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.

Whining and crying are employed by kids for the purpose of getting something. If it works, then it was worth the effort and will be repeated.

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

Children fare better when expectations on them are clear and firm.

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

Children mimic well. They catch what they see better than they follow what they hear.

Don't wait for him to turn 10 before you reveal that you are not in fact the hired help whose job it is to clean up after him.

Children do not develop on their own - they only develop within relationships.

"Moody" and "unpredictable" are adjectives parents will often use when referring to their teenagers.

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

Learn more.

Symptoms of “Executive Dysfunction”

These are the kinds of things that make living with or working with an ADHD child challenging.

  • lack of foresight (unable to predict consequences for his/her behaviour)
  • poor hindsight (“Johnny, how many times do I have to tell you to  . . . )
  • live for the minute (the future and past do not exist)
  • poor organization (unable to “get it together” in A.M.)
  • trouble returning to a task (“Johnny, you never complete anything”)
  • poor sense of time (“Johnny, you can’t spend 1 hour on the first 2 questions”)
  • time moves too slowly (“Are we almost there?”)
  • poor self talk (“Johnny, what were you thinking)
  • poor sense of self awareness (answer to above question – “I don’t have a clue”)
  • poor internalization and generalization of rules (“Why do I have to tell you the same thing over and over”)
  • poor reading of social clues (“Johnny, can’t you see that the other children think that’s weird”)
  • inconsistent work and behaviour (“Johnny, if you could do it well yesterday, why is today so horrible”)
  • trouble with transitions (“Johnny, why do you curse at me when I’m just calling you for dinner”)
  • hyper focused at times (“When Johnny is on the computer, I can’t get him off”)
  • poor frustration tolerance (“Johnny, it’s no big deal. Just get over it”)
  • frequently overwhelmed (“Stop, stop, I can’t stand it”)
  • angry (quickly and frequently)
  • push away those trying to help
  • over reacting (but it’s really over feeling)
  • inflexible, explosive reactions
  • thrill seeking behaviours
  • trouble paying attention to others
  • trouble making and keeping friends
  • sense of failure to achieve goals

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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

“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)