Response-Ability: Parenting Strategies for a Harmonious Family

Programme Schedule

Thursday 3rd February: Session 1. Positive reinforcement for positive behaviour.

Thursday 10th February: Session 2. Consequence statements: “When…, then…”; “If…, then…”.

Thursday 17th February: Session 3. Setting out expectations and rewards.

Thursday 24th February: Optional catch-up session (1 hour)

Thursday 3rd March: Session 4. Siblings.

Thursday 10th March: Session 5. Motivation methods for your child.

Thursday 17th March: Session 6. Managing other adults in your child’s life.

Thursday 24th March: Wrap-up session

Who should take this programme?     Parents of children with challenging behaviours who may or may not have diagnoses of ADHD or autism. Anyone who wants methods which are respectful of children, are non-violent, and yet clearly place the parents in charge.

It’s been hard… Many families with children who exhibit challenging behaviours end up feeling they’re at a dead end. Parents can feel pressurised to fulfil society’s expectations that their child “should” be behaving differently. But traditional approaches to parenting don’t work for these children, so societal norms become part of the problem, leaving parents feeling disempowered and exasperated, and leaving children feeling misunderstood and, at worst, unloved.     Now, that can change. This programme allows parents to make positive changes to their parenting skills at the same time that their child is making positive changes to their behavioural skills in a progressive, step-by-step way.

Once you are equipped with the hitherto missing skills provided by this programme, parenting your child can start to feel more manageable, more predictable, more straightforward. And more fun.

This time, it will be different…  This programme works because we concentrate on one thing at each step and give you time to learn to use the strategy before adding another one. Because it happens in steps, it is easier for you and your children to adapt.

The programme is structured into 6 assignments. Each assignment is designed to implement a parenting skill and builds on what was mastered in the previous assignments. The assignment gives you a picture of what is common in the families we work with, a little bit of theory, and some specific strategies. There are questions to help you to think through how the strategy can work in your family with your child. This step helps you to prepare for implementing the strategy. You will be asked to use the strategy and write down what happened over the course of the week. At the end of the week you will reflect on what worked and what didn’t.

Your Course Mentor

Richard Whitehead is author of the book, Why Tyrannosaurus But Not If? (http://www.whyty.co.uk) published in July 2017. The book draws on Richard’s background as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator, classroom teacher, SpLD assessor and learning enhancement practitioner and pay especial regard to the work of Ronald Davis.

Richard provides personal programmes and professional workshops in the Davis methods for dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD and autism. He is Director of Davis Learning Foundation in the UK and a Co-Director of Davis Learning – Baltic Association in Estonia.

Richard is a “veteran parent” with three sons and a stepdaughter.

Important Note: If your child has ADHD or autism, we strongly recommend arranging a Davis Attention Mastery, Davis Concepts for Life or Davis Autism Approach Programme for your child prior to embarking upon this course. Find out more about Davis Programmes or contact us for further advice.

The Davis® methods (including Davis Programmes and the Why Tyrannosaurus But Not If? courses) and Response-Ability Parenting are separate and distinct programmes which are provided in their own distinct contexts on separate schedules.