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The teenage years require a delicate balance between the young person's need to gain independence, and the parent's need to retain authority.

Being a parent of a teenager can cure a person of narcissism.

Criticism is not a motivator.

We should not medicate the boys so they fit the school; we should change the school to fit the boy. (Leonard Sax, M.D. Ph.D)

Setting limits teaches your children valuable skills they will use the rest of their lives. One day, they will report to a job where their ability to follow rules will dictate their success.

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 there is no relationship - nothing else matters !

"Rules without relationship leads to rebellion" (Josh McDowell)

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

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

Learn more.

FASD – Late Adolescence (17 – 22)

The main goals :

  1. move out of home
  2. establish his own life
  3. learn to cope with societal rules – increase personal expectation with diminishing parental support (lots of teens without FASD have trouble with this)

Trouble Areas:

  1. undereducated
  2. poor money management
  3. loneliness
  4. lack of boundaries
  5. 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 him want to do it.

GUIDELINES FOR PARENTS

Your late adolescent meeds a combination of:

  • support
  • encouragement
  • patience
  • letting go

It may be best to try to ease your young person into independence by having him board with someone or home share with a responsible adult or convert the garage to a granny flat or have him move into a group home.

This is the stage of life when some individuals begin families of their own. A person with FASD usually requires an enormous amount of support

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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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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

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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)