Aram Aslanian
Assistant Professor

Education Department

Western Connecticut State University

181 White Street

Danbury, CT 06810

DeEtta Breitwieser
School Social Worker
Newtown Public Schools
203-270-4558

Carmelia Cassano
School Psychologist
Newtown Public Schools
203-426-7657

Ed Cassinari
School Psychologist
Newington Public Schools
860-666-4687

Robert Esposito
Director, Guidance and Coundeling

Fairfield Warde High School

Fairfield, CT 06430

203-255-8388

Lorraine Giannini
Assistant Principal
Regional School District #8
860-295-6220

Gary S. Gula
Principal
Canton Public Schools
860-693-7707

Donna Laich
School Psychologist
Wallingford Public Schools
203-294-5900

Mary Ann Lindquist
Teacher
Simsbury Public Schools
860-658-4774

John Peak
Principal
Manchester Regional Academy
860-647-3496

Ronald Perrault
Principal
Simsbury Public Schools
860-658-7629

Ray Stevens
School Psychologist
American School for the Deaf
860-570-2220

Richard Watson
Principal
Rocky Hill Public Schools
860-258-7751

Jane Currie
Special Services Director
Farmington Public Schools
860-677-1791

Gregory W. Little
Special Services Director
Simsbury Public Schools
860-658-3873

Anthony Malavenda
Pupil Personnel Services Director
Bristol Public Schools
860-584-7729

Patricia O'Connor
Special Education & Pupil Services Director
Ridgefield, Public Schools

203-431-2800 x319 Ridgefield, CT 06877

Leo Salvatore
Assistant Superintendent, Pupil Personnel Services
Windsor Public Schools
860-687-2000 Ext. 238

Tricia Santi, M.S., LMFT

High Tide Counseling
234 Mulberry Point Road

Guilford, CT 06437

FAMILIES

The Rocha Family of Simsbury, Connecticut writes of their ongoing involvement in a School-Based Collaboration program and using Dr. O'Callaghan's parenting techniques:
Throughout kindergarten, our daughter was not paying attention or staying focused in class. At home she was defiant, uncooperative and was alienating herself from her three siblings. The school system administered a complete psycho-educational evaluation in which no learning disability was found, but ADD was suspected. A school psychologist suggested, "just put her on Ritalin for the summer and see what happens." We knew there had to be an answer other than to medicate our child with a controlled substance.

Then we found Dr. J. Brien O'Callaghan's book, " Parenting by Automatic Pilot." It just made sense. He didn't believe in ADD or Ritalin as the likely cause of most school problems. When first grade started and our daughter's problem didn't just go away, we asked for a home/school collaboration. With Dr. O'Callaghan's support, we and the school set forth a plan based on his methods.

It wasn't as simple as a pill. It took great commitment, will and the ability to accept that as parents we allowed this situation to be created and we could fix it. Dr. O'Callaghan showed us that our child did not have ADD, did not need narcotic drugs, had the capacity to learn and cooperate but lacked the motivation. After years of trying, we had felt helpless to come up with a strategy to help our daughter. Dr. O'Callaghan's method proved incredibly effective. Our daughter went from being the defiant, uncooperative child she had been for the first 6 years of her life to the more confident, focused and cooperative child we knew was inside her, all because she now had the motivation to do so. For 6 years we had a child who didn't seem to be a full person. She was the ultimate jigsaw puzzle that we never seemed able to complete. Dr. O'Callaghan showed us where all the pieces fit. He changed our child's life forever. It's so nice to have this whole lovely, happy little person. Without Dr. O'Callaghan, our choices of treatment for our child were bleak: suffer through it or mask it with drugs.

Dr. O'Callaghan's support and his willingness to work with us and the school to enact his strategies paid huge dividends. But most importantly he taught us, as parents, where the pitfalls in parenting lay and how to teach our child the motivation to learn, to work and to live.

David and Amy Rocha, e-mail: therocha7@aol.com

For appointments and scheduled consultations, please contact Dr. J. Brien O'Callaghan at brienoc@comcast.net, call him at 1-203-740-2595, or write to him at J. Brien O'Callaghan, Ph.D., 246 Federal Road, C-24, Brookfield, CT 06804