welcome image

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)

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

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

You cannot reason with someone who is being unreasonable.

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

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.

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

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

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.

Learn more.

FASD

FASD – What is it?

  • it is damage to the brain and body
  • the damage is caused by alcohol consumption by the mother during pregnancy
  • it is the leading cause of mental retardation in North America
  • its effects are irreversible and lifelong
  • its effects vary from slight to devastating

Characterized by:

  • growth deficiency
  • central nervous system dysfunction (ie. brain damage)
  • special facial features (not always)
  • body malformation (not always)

Fetal Alcohol Related Problems have Significant Impact on:

  • individuals
  • families
  • schools
  • treatment centres
  • jails
  • health system

The cost of providing services for 1 individual with FASD for a lifetime have risen dramatically:

  • 1980     =     $500,000
  • 1989     =     $1,400,000
  • 1994     =     $2,400,000
  • current =        ?
  • future    =     ? ? ?

Back to Top

Workshops

+ Behaviour Management (now available online)

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

Learn more

+ A Parent’s Guide to the Teenage Brain

  A teenager’s brain is not just an adult brain […]

Learn more

+ Reading Rescue

A program for children with reading problems

Learn more

+ A Guided Tour of ADHD (now available online)

This workshop will present the facts, myths, misconceptions, controversy and […]

Learn more

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

Archive


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)