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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.

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

The more 2 parents differ in their approaches to discipline, the more likely it leads to trouble for the child.

Relationships matter:  change comes through forming trusting relationships. People, not programs change people.

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

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

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

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

Removing a child from a traumatic environment does not remove the trauma from the child's memory.

Children fare better when expectations on them are clear and firm.

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Brain Facts # 1

    The traditional school environment works well for children when their natural love for learning is sound and for children whose brains are hardwired to be able to sit, behave and stay focused in a classroom. The traditional environment however does not work well for those children who are not so blessed. Welcome to the world of the Child & Youth Worker  whose job it is to figure out how to make life  better […]

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Reading Rescue – the sequence – steps 4 , 5, 6

Step # 4 Use the Blending Book to introduce the long vowel sound “a” with the silent “e”. Add the other long vowel sounds with silent “e” at an appropriate pace. Step # 5 Introduce the consonant blends (eg. “br”, “cl”, “sm”, etc.) and the digraphs (eg. “ch”, “th”, etc.) Step # 6 Once the child is able to blend the sounds in a automatic way, replace the Blending Books with flash cards. While you […]

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Reading Rescue – the sequence – step 2 & 3

Step 2 Once the child can match and produce the correct sounds for the letters in grouping # 1, introduce the short sound “a” from list 2. Step 3 The blending od sounds together is frequently a problem for some children. A Blending Book is used to address this problem. The child is shown a page with the letter “m” in view and asked to say that sound and hold it for a long time […]

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Reading Rescue – the sequence -step 1

The initial skill required in reading is to be able to match a specific sound with a letter. Example: “m” says ___________ “s” says ____________ Reading Rescue uses Cue Cards to help children make the connection between letter and sound. On one side of the Cue Card is a printed letter and on the other side is a picture of an object that begins with that letter. Simple games are used to teach the sound […]

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Reading Rescue – theory part 3

Most children are able to learn the basic individual skills needed for reading in the conventional manner and begin to assimilate the more obscure skills on their own and become proficient readers as you have done. There are however a significant % of children who for a variety of reasons have been unable to grasp these skills and consequently have great difficulty in learning to read. Meanwhile most of their peers are “getting it”. Reading […]

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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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“He is a wealth of knowledge coupled with first hand experience.”

(E.K. – London)