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

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

There has been an explosion in the prescribing of medication for very young children, particularly preschool and kindergarten boys (Juli Zito , Univ. of Maryland)

Parents are the external regulator for kids who cannot regulate themselves.

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.

Removing a child from a traumatic environment does not remove the trauma from the child's memory.

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

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

"To be a man, a boy must see a man."  (J.R. Moehringer)

A tantruming toddler is a little ball of writhing muscle and incredible strength. It's like trying to carry a greased pig past a slop bucket.

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

“Our daughter was the joy of our life until she turned 13, then all hell broke loose. Rick helped us understand what was happening to her and we made some adjustments that helped us get through it. She’s now in University and doing well.”

(D.A. – St. Thomas)