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You cannot reason with someone who is being unreasonable.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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Lori’s note

Lori’s psychiatrist asked her to write something describing her life: “Everybody is hurt sometime in his or her life. For me it started with my parents. But let me start further back. I was adopted in 1986 by my parents. In elementary school, people were not very nice to me. They spread rumours about me that I was a lesbian, which by the way, I’m not. Anyway, I had very few friends and was what […]

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Variables Affecting FASD

Prenatal alcohol consumption does not ALWAYS result in neurological damage. Variables: dose (amount of alcohol) timing (stage of pregnancy) genetic factors (mother and baby) (some ethnic groups are more susceptible) metabolic factors (mother and baby)(some individuals have reduced enzymes to breakdown alcohol) Some other factors: maternal weight fetal weight cell development at time of alcohol exposure age of mother maternal use of cigarettes & other toxins oxygen deprivation due to maternal liver dysfunction Some heavy […]

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FASD – First Scientific Sudy

The first scientific study conducted regarding FASD was done by Dr. William Sullivan in 1899 in Liverpool England. Sullivan compared the mortality rate of offspring of “female drunkards” with that of the offspring of their sober female relatives. He discovered that the death rate of “drunkards” children was 2.5 times greater than death rate of the sober relatives. Sullivan’s study was rejected by the scientific community of the day as being “simplistic and moralistic” It […]

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Does This Sound Familiar?

Does any of this sound familiar?                   – “No, you cannot have another glass of water”                   – “Look at that closet; what do you mean you have nothing to wear?”                   – “This room should be condemned by the Board of Health.”                   – “Do you think money grows on trees?”                   – “Get out of bed this instant?”                   – “Get into bed this instant?”                   – “What is that on the floor?” […]

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The Good News & The Bad News

First the good news: the recovery rate for a single episode is high Now the bad news: each episode increases the risk of another IT IS VITAL TO RECOGNIZE DEPRESSION EARLY AND TAKE STEPS TO TREAT IT!

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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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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 are foster parents who took in a 13 year old girl (going on 18!) and she ran us through the wringer. Rick helped us learn how to set limits that made the difference.”

(G.E. – Strathroy)