Fear, uncertainty and isolation at home can make it tough for families to keep a sense of calm. Many parents are experiencing elevated stress and anxiety while balancing work, homeschooling, quarantine and daily responsibilities.

Parenting a child with ADHD has its challenges at the best of times, let alone in the middle of a pandemic. It is important to remember that there are strategies and resources available to help parents with the unique challenges of parenting children with ADHD and social-emotional difficulties during Covid-19.

In the Calm Kids Happy Families program, parents will have a chance to learn strategies, problem solve, discuss and seek advice on how to best support their child and care for their own mental health. A critical component of the program is the parents’ opportunity to connect and share resources.

Topics will focus on the following:

• The ADHD brain and the impact of stress on the body and brain
• Understanding your child’s social, emotional, and physical needs
• Helping your child develop coping skills
• Dealing with challenging behaviour
• Helping kids handle worry and anxiety
• Managing your child’s screen time
• Ways to decrease power struggles
• Importance of maintaining structure and routine
• Using positive reinforcement to encourage desired behaviours
• Ways to improve communication skills

The program is led by experienced staff who understand the needs of families with children with ADHD. The groups are live and interactive and are limited to 12 parents.

New groups begin in the fall, winter and spring and run for 6 weeks.

Normally, the Calm Kids Happy Families program occurs at the CanLearn Society and works to involve both parents and children. However, with the Covid-19 restrictions, we have temporarily moved the parent sessions online and put the child classes are on hold. We are continuing to work towards re-integrating the child portion safely and effectively.

Program Fees

This is a fee-for-service program.

Financial Assistance is available for those who need our services but cannot pay for services because of financial barriers.

This program may qualify for Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) funding.

Note: Groups are subject to cancellation if enrollment is below our set minimums.

Click here to read our Cancellation Policy.