welcome image

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.

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

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

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

Simple rules adhered to when children are young can prevent more serious problems later.

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

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.

Parenting style matters - a lot!

Criticism is not a motivator.

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

Learn more.

Quotes from the Medical Minority re: ADD/ADHD

As mentioned in a previous blog, there is no consensus among the medical community regarding the cause and treatments for ADD/ADHD. In fact there are even doctors who question whether ADD/ADHD even exists. This medical minority believe that the individuals diagnosed with this disorder are nothing more than people who occupy one extreme end of the range of some behavioural characteristics.

Note the following quotes from some of the medical minority:

“Research does not confirm the existence of ADD/ADHD” . (David Johnson M.D.

“There is no consistent evidence for an underlying physical or chemical cause.” (Gerald S. Golden M.D.)

We have invented a disease , given it medical sanction, and now must disown it. The major question is how do we go about destroying the monster we have created. It is not easy to do this and still save face, another reason why physicians and many researchers with years of funding and an academic reputation to protect, are reluctant to believe the data.”

(Diane McGuinness M.D.)

My own (non medical) viewpoint is that clearly some people genuinely do have problems with attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity and benefit greatly from medical treatment.

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

“Implementing Rick’s techniques and adhering to them is exhausting, but it is a healthy exhaustion rather than the detrimental exhaustion I used to experience.”

(B.F. – Woodstock)