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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.

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

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

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 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.

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

"The thing that impresses me most about North America is the way parents obey their children"    (King Edward VII , 1841-1910)

Early intervention is always better than crisis management - but it is never too late to do the right thing.

It's more effective to reward your child for being "good" (appropriate) than to punish him for being "bad" (inappropriate).

Learn more.

The Problem with ADD/ADHD Assessments

The medical community uses the term “diagnosis drives treatment”.  This means that a correct diagnosis must be made before a treatment is prescribed. This is quite straight forward with many medical problems (examples – throat infections, cancer, heart attacks, broken bones, abscess tooth, etc) as there are diagnostic tests that can definitively identify the problem (examples – blood tests, bacterial cultures, MRI, biopsies, X rays, etc).

The problem diagnosing  ADD/ADHD (and many other problems in the brain) is that there are no “hard” biological markers that can be used to definitively diagnose it. The diagnosis is made by interpreting the observations of the child’s parents and teachers. The only professionals that are legally allowed to diagnose ADD/ADHD  are medical doctors and some psychologists. These professions sometimes  observe the child directly but more often than not they use the observations of others in making a diagnosis. This admittedly is a poor way to diagnose a problem and subsequently decide on a treatment plan but it is the usual way it is done.

My next posting will outline the preferred assessment procedures for ADD/ADHD.

“What parents need most are ideas because with ideas we get options.”

Rick Harper  has been providing ideas to parents for over 40 years.

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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

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

(C.C. – Sarnia)