welcome image

Criticism is not a motivator.

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

"Cutting" is a visible sign to the world that you are hurting.

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

Some hope their children will be like sponges soaking up the truth and wisdom imparted by their parents. However appealing this philosophy might be, it seldom seems to catch on with their children.

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

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

"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.

If you (parents) tend to overreact to your child's misbehaviour - your child learns that he can't trust you. Mom, Dad, stay regulated!

Learn more.

Tactics for Tantrums (part 1)

My next several posts will offer ideas about handling toddler’s tantrums. They are based on the premise that some tantrum throwing will and should occur and that our job as parents is to make it as painless as possible for all participants. 1. The Ignore Tactic To use the ignore tactic the parent totally ignores the child’s dramatic performance. Look busy. Bustle around the house, sweeping, dusting or stacking magazines. Do not, however, try to […]

Read complete blog post

What Does a Parent of a Child With ADHD Look Like ?

Sometimes like this:   frustrated stressed out frightened angry exhausted discouraged burned out Parents often feel blame, guilt and shame. They frequently believe that they have somehow “messed up” their child

Read complete blog post

FASD – Late Adolescence (17 – 22)

The main goals : move out of home establish his own life learn to cope with societal rules – increase personal expectation with diminishing parental support (lots of teens without FASD have trouble with this) Trouble Areas: undereducated poor money management loneliness lack of boundaries poor judgement He may lack the emotional and / or the educational maturity to embark on an independent life but he still has the internal and societal programming that makes […]

Read complete blog post

FASD- Early Adolescence – guidelines for teachers

the FASD adolescent still requires consistency, strong academic supports, and patience hormones are present but without the boundaries & social skills the teen may appear to be functioning higher than he really is sequencing problems may still persist teen will require immediate feedback other emotional problems may coexist – depression – eating disorder – suicide ideation – emotional alienation outrageous behaviours may continue (eg. temper tantrums) school suspensions

Read complete blog post

FASD – Late Childhood (aged 8 – 12)

The main developmental task for children of this age is to develop a sense of industry. Family stresses are likely to increase as FASD children can be exhausting. Caregivers will benefit from counselling and respite care may become necessary. Peer and sibling relationships can become more difficult because the child may have legitimate  difficulty with following the rules, turn taking, cheating, stealing, breaking things and being unpredictable. Children with FASD do not understand the feelings […]

Read complete blog post




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

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

(C.C. – Sarnia)