Excursions

Special Topics in Raising Your Challenging Child

Parent Child Excursions are stand-alone courses on common topics in developmental and behavioral pediatrics: ADHD, anxiety, autism, social success, sibling relationships, eating, sleeping, violence, adolescence, gender, sexuality, and more. These in-depth seminars are for parents of children with challenging temperaments or developmental differences. Each Excursion starts with a review of background concepts then dives deep into specific strategies. As with all Parent Child Journey courses, the emphasis here is on individualizing the approach for each child. Choose the topics that interest you. Real-life challenges. Real-life solutions.

Family in a boat

Different Children. Different Parents.

As children learn differently, so do parents. Dr. Shapiro has designed options to fit different parent needs, schedules, and financial resources. A wide range of topics. Live discussion groups. Recorded at-your-own-pace video courses. All programs are offered on a pay-what-you-can basis.

Excursions:
Live Interactive Zoom Discussion Groups

Free Parent Support Group

Every Monday at 1:00 PM (USA Eastern Time)

Join other parents and Dr. Dan for a participant-led discussion. Different themes are selected by the group each week. Share experiences and ideas. Support each other. Brainstorm solutions. You are not alone.

Spring 2024 Parent Child Excursions by Zoom

For Parents of Children and Adolescents with ADHD, Anxiety and Social Difficulties

Preview the videos that come with your registration. Then join us on zoom for live discussion. Come to some or all. Video course and/or live zoom discussion. One registration covers all options. You choose.

Medication For ADHD

  • April 9, Part I: How to run Carefully Controlled Trials
  • April 16, Part II: Side effects, Un-even Coverage and Discontinuation Trials
  • April 23: Skip week
  • April 30, Part III: Coexisting ADHD, Anxiety and Autism

Helping Your Anxious Child

  • May 7, Part I: Child-Centered Approaches
  • May 14, Part II: Parent-Centered Approaches

Helping Your Child Experience Social Success

  • May 21, Part I: Understanding Social Difficulties
  • May 28, Part II: Social Choreography

When: Seven Tuesday mornings, 10:00-11:00 (ET),
April 9 – May 28

With: Dan Shapiro, MD

Where: On Zoom (link provided upon registration)

Cost: Pay-What-You-Can (recommended range $100-$350 for all seven sessions and video)

Registration for the Spring Excursions Package includes:

  1. Medication For ADHD
  2. Helping Your Anxious Child
  3. Helping Your Child Experience Social Success

Bonus: A link for all ten Parent Child Excursion videos:

  1. Medication For ADHD
  2. Coexisting ADHD, Anxiety and Autism
  3. Overcoming Anxiety
  4. Helping Your Child Experience Social Success
  5. Autism, Gender, and Sexual Variation
  6. Children and Violent Play
  7. Helping Siblings Get Along
  8. Helping Your Child Learn Healthy Eating Habits
  9. Helping Your Child with Sleep Problems
  10. Working with Your Adolescent

At-Your-Own-Pace
Excursions Video Courses

Special Topics In Raising Your Challenging Child

Register

Just click the link next to the course title(s) of your choice. Then, scroll down to view the course outline and a sample video. Want to get all the Excursions? Note “complete package” option below all course listings.

Registration for individual courses

Choose from the menu below. Pick what you like. Just $20 per course gets you two months of access. For registration, just click on individual course titles below.

Registration for a complete package of all courses

Get six months of access to the whole buffet! If you are interested in viewing more than a few of these courses, you can purchase all the Excursions in one big bundle. Pay-what-you-can. Suggested range: $100-$350. To those of you who can pay more, thanks for helping those who can’t.

Complete Package

Helping Your Child with ADHD Medication

This video course provides a comprehensive discussion of ADHD medication. How to decide when to treat? How to run a carefully controlled medication trial? How to avoid blood level dips and provide even medication coverage? How to manage medication side effects? When, how and why to try stopping medication? Dr. Dan answers these questions and more.

Overcoming Anxiety

Anxiety is the most common developmental challenge of childhood- but it is also the best understood and the most manageable. In this video course, Dr. Dan discusses the many causes of anxiety and what to do about it. His approach goes beyond child-centered cognitive behavioral therapy to include the whole family, school, and others.

Coexisting ADHD, Anxiety, and Autism

ADHD, Anxiety and Autism often travel together. In this video course, Dr. Dan shows how to move beyond these diagnostic categories and think about a spectrum of excitation-inhibition. This way of thinking about developmental difference helps us find the right balance – with medication and other therapies – for each child.

Autism, Gender and Sexual Variation

Thanks to people with developmental differences, the world is changing. Hear Dr. Dan’s thoughts on: “What people with autism have to teach the rest of us about sexuality and gender.” Autism is common; so are differences in gender and sexuality. Is there a connection? How to support your child’s self-discovery.

Children and Violent Play

Many children exhibit aggressive behaviors. They have violent thoughts. They say scary things. In this video discussion, Dr. Dan explores play-fighting, media exposure to violence, and more. When to just “let kids be kids.” When to worry. What to do.

Helping Siblings Get Along

Siblings can be the best of friends and the worst of enemies. Parents often struggle deciding when to take a step forward and when to take a step back. Using a family systems framework, Dr. Dan discusses how to individualize behavior management and teach children how to do collaborative problem-solving.

Helping Your Child Experience Social Success

There are many reasons why some children struggle making friends. By understanding the source of these difficulties and your child’s current level of social development, you can set the stage for successful peer interactions. Dr. Dan shows how assessment of social development guides the choreography of “just-right” social challenges.

Helping Your Child Learn Healthy Eating Habits

Whether your child eats too little or too much, this video course will help you understand why. How to take a balanced, practical, and individualized approach? Dr. Dan discusses the important difference between short-term calorie intake and long-term habit formation. Growth and nutrition matter. But social and emotional health should “weigh” at least as much.

Helping Your Child with Sleep Problems

Does your child have difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep? Should you be tough or soft? As with all of Dr. Dan’s programs, effective management depends upon the source of your child’s sleep problems – and a bit about you too! One approach does not fit all children or all parents. Here’s how to find what’s right for your family.

Working with Your Adolescent

It’s no secret that the adolescent years can be stressful for teens and parents. However, this period between childhood and adulthood can also be a time of positive growth and development. In this video course, Dr. Dan reviews normal development then shares ideas on how to navigate common challenges. Little kids, little problems. Big kids, big problems. Parenting do’s and don’ts.

Resources for Excursions Program

Parent Child Excursions: The Book

Get your copy of Dr. Dan’s book on ADHD, Anxiety, and Autism. This is an in-depth guide to medication management for ADHD, parallel exposure therapy for anxiety, combined therapies for management of coexisting conditions, social choreography for autism, plus the intertwined issues of autism, sexuality and gender. Available in paperback or Kindle e-book.

Excursions FAQs

Is this right for me?

Graduates of the ten session Journey parent training program may be interested in more focused discussion of specific topics. But you don’t have to be a Journey graduate to sign up for these Excursions. All are welcome. These seminars are for parents of children of all ages with challenging temperaments or developmental differences. Each Excursion covers one topic, including some of the most common and difficult issues facing parents today. When you register for the live discussion group, you get the recorded video course free.

What should I expect if a sign up for a live Excursion discussion group?

Each session will begin with a brief review of background concepts and specific strategies. Then, Dr. Dan leads the group discussion about individualized approaches to implementation. Conversation is informal. Parents are encouraged to share. By the end of the program, parents should understand where problems come from and what to do. Real-life challenges, real-life solutions.

What topics are covered in live Excursions?

All topics are always available through the recorded at-your-own-pace video courses. If you want to join a live discussion group, all the special topics are offered in rotation. Check out the list of Live Excursions to learn about upcoming topics and times.

Should I take a live Excursion discussion group, a recorded at-your-own-pace video course, or both?

Every one of the Special Topics in Raising Your Challenging Child Excursions is always available as a video recording. Some parents will want to just watch the recorded at-your-own-pace course without joining a live discussion group. These online courses are comprehensive and detailed. So, the video recordings are a great way for you to get the complete course content, whenever you like.

The live discussion groups serve a different purpose. These interactive groups give parents the opportunity to talk directly with Dr. Dan and hear from other parents too. Live Excursions are your chance to ask questions, share experiences and brainstorm solutions. If you are going to join a live discussion group, we recommend watching the at-your-own-pace recorded course in advance. That way, you will come prepared for the discussion.

Live Excursion discussion group? Recorded at-your-own-pace video course? Or both? It’s entirely up to you.

little boy pushing little girl in a toy car

You may also be interested in Parent Child Journey: An Individualized Approach to Raising Your Challenging Child – a ten session integrated course.