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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.

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.

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

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

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

The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice. (Peggy O'Mara)

You cannot reason with someone who is being unreasonable.

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)

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

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

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Depression – the stress “triggers”

 
THE STRESS “TRIGGERS”
 
“Bad” things happen to kids
                  – 1/2 of Canadian families go through divorce
                  – 1/4 of Canadian women report having been sexually abused
                  – parents, siblings, friends die
 
The overwhelmingly majority of children are remarkably resilient and emerge from the “bad” things relatively unscathed.
 
Those predisposed to anxiety and depression sometimes develop major depression after a stressful event.
 
 
 
Studies with animals corroborate this (mice, rats, monkeys)
                  – maternal deprivation
                  – social isolation
                  – maltreatment
                  ( these stressors caused changes in the structure and function of their brains similar to those
                   seen in adult humans with depression)
 
CHANGES  TO THE ADOLESCENT’S BRAIN
                                PLUS
THE STRESS CAUSED BY THEIR DEVELOPMENT TASKS
                            COINCIDE
WITH INCREASED RATES OF  MAJOR PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS 

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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 psychiatrist recommended Rick to help us sort out behaviour management issues for our autistic son. He was an invaluable help.”

(C.C. – Sarnia)