By Jasmine Franklin
Through a special fund, Ponoka’s Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) was able to host a successful workshop on the “The Explosive Child” for parents with the help of Dr. Stuart Ablon.
“There are a range of people here from parents, to teachers, to educators,” said Diana Rowe, Community Partnership Enhancement Fund project (CPEF) co-ordinator. “We heard there was a need for this information and so we did what we could to bring it.”
Dr. Ablon held workshops Nov. 19 and Nov. 20 at the Kinsmen Community Centre to teach parents and educators different approaches when dealing with challenging behavior in children and adolescents.
“Traditional approaches in the home setting are not working,” Ablon said. “Everyone is looking for a different approach so I’m trying to provide that.”
After travelling all across Canada with this presentation, Ablon said the basic principle is that kids will only do what they are able to.
“It’s more complicated than kids not wanting to behave,” Ablon said. “There are learning disabilities, or they may lack in thinking skills. It’s like problem-solving, there has to be an identification of what skills need to be developed and then approach it from that angle.”
CPEF project funding is a project meant for FCSS and Child and Family Services Authority (CFSA) to work together in bringing preventative approaches to relevant issues into the community.
CPEF provided Ponoka’s FCSS with a $20,000 fund for the workshop to which over 300 people attended Nov. 20.
Ablon’s workshop was part of a stream of presentations brought into Ponoka by FCSS to address various issues such as bullying, drugs and alcohol abuse. He was sponsored by Ponoka FCSS, Rimbey FCSS, Wetaskiwin CFSA, Wetaskiwin County and City of Wetaskiwin FCSS.
For more information on Ablon or the workshops visit www.thinkkids.org.