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Many clinicians find it easier to tell parents their child has a brain-based disorder than suggest parenting changes. Jennifer Harris (psychiatrist)

The teenage years require a delicate balance between the young person's need to gain independence, and the parent's need to retain authority.

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.

We should not medicate the boys so they fit the school; we should change the school to fit the boy. (Leonard Sax, M.D. Ph.D)

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

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

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

Good parenting requires sacrifice. Childhood lasts for only a few brief years , but it should be given priority while it is passing before your eyes

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

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

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Quotes from the Medical Minority re: ADD/ADHD

As mentioned in a previous blog, there is no consensus among the medical community regarding the cause and treatments for ADD/ADHD. In fact there are even doctors who question whether ADD/ADHD even exists. This medical minority believe that the individuals diagnosed with this disorder are nothing more than people who occupy one extreme end of the range of some behavioural characteristics.

Note the following quotes from some of the medical minority:

“Research does not confirm the existence of ADD/ADHD” . (David Johnson M.D.

“There is no consistent evidence for an underlying physical or chemical cause.” (Gerald S. Golden M.D.)

“We have invented a disease , given it medical sanction, and now must disown it. The major question is how do we go about destroying the monster we have created. It is not easy to do this and still save face, another reason why physicians and many researchers with years of funding and an academic reputation to protect, are reluctant to believe the data.”

(Diane McGuinness M.D.)

My own (non medical) viewpoint is that clearly some people genuinely do have problems with attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity and benefit greatly from medical treatment.

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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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