Pubdate: Thu, 16 Feb 2006
Source: Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle (Beverly, MA)
Copyright: 2005 Community Newspaper Company, Inc
Contact:  http://www2.townonline.com/hamilton
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3774
Author:  Lucy R. Sprague Frederiksen, Correspondent
Bookmark:  http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education)

YOUTH AT RISK

Identification and intervention. Those were the themes at a community 
panel on substance abuse awareness held at the Hamilton-Wenham 
Regional High School on  Feb. 6. Well over 60 people attended, 
including parents and school personnel. According to  Assistant 
Principal Allison Collins, the host for the evening, the goal of the 
presentation was to help parents support teenagers during transition 
years. A  panel of distinguished and experienced presenters addressed 
risk factors,  intervention strategies and the warning signs of drug 
and alcohol use in  teenagers.

The event was  organized by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Awareness and 
Prevention Team, a  community organization comprised of teachers, 
school administrators and guidance  counselors, local emergency 
services personnel, medical professionals, parents  and community 
members. ADAAPT meets once per month and sponsors a survey every 
other year to collect data on youth risk behavior in the district. 
According to  Collins, the results from the March 2005 survey 
indicated that 50 percent of  high school students admitted to having 
used alcohol, including 37 percent of  the year's freshman class. 
Some respondents indicated that they indulged in  binge drinking 
while 19 percent said they had tried marijuana and 7 
percent  admitted to recreational use of prescription stimulants and 
painkillers. Between 2 and 3 percent of the respondents said they had 
tried stronger illegal drugs.  One in three of those surveyed 
admitted to experiencing depression, with the  highest percentage in 
the ninth grade. Risk factors Substance abuse  has some clear risk 
factors. Dr. Jefferson Prince, director of child psychiatry  at North 
Shore Medical Center and a child psychiatrist with Mass. 
General  Hospital, addressed the relationship between substance abuse 
and depression and other psychiatric disorders.

Recent research,  Prince said, indicates that an individual's 
neurobiology and genes play a role  in how he or she experiences 
pleasure. People who are likely to become addicted  always "need more."

Prince also  pointed out that, contrary to expectations, depression 
does not necessarily  precede substance abuse.

"Early substance  use and sexual behavior," Prince said, "can 
predispose people to depression, not  the other way around."

Prince described  some of the modifiable risk factors in teenagers 
that parents should be aware  of. "Cigarettes are a gateway drug," he 
said. Tobacco trains  the brain, Prince explained, to seek surges of 
pleasure. Teens with attention  deficit disorder often start using 
cigarettes up to two years earlier than  students without ADD.

Alcohol, Prince  said, is the most common drug of choice and the most 
easily obtainable. And he  made the case that marijuana, contrary to 
popular belief, is an addictive drug  that seriously alters users' 
perceptions of reality. Lynne Bishop, a  clinical social worker with 
Health and Education Services in Ipswich,  identifiedmajor transition 
times in a teenager's life as risk factors for  substance abuse. As 
teens grow more concerned and anxious about fitting in, the  risk of 
experimentation with drugs and alcohol increases. Prevention and 
intervention Michael Appel,  regional director of N.E. Addiction 
Intervention Resources, works primarily with  families that are in 
crisis because of the substance abuse of a family member.  He pointed 
out that interventions usually happen with older teens, twelfth 
graders and college students. And, he said, they most often happen in 
conjunction with another event, such as attempted suicide, arrest or 
academic  failure.

"The hitting rock  bottom theory is all very well," Appel explained. 
"But it is probably possible  to intervene earlier."

All of the  panelists identified ways to prevent teenagers from 
starting drug or alcohol  use, to know when a child is using or at 
risk and how to intervene. Prince  recommended talking and listening 
to kids and their friends in order to know  them and their concerns. 
It is harder to treat depression, he said, once  substance use has 
entered the equation.

Appel recommended  setting boundaries for kids and seeking help early 
for those exhibiting warning  signs. He advised parents to let kids 
know that some behavior is never  acceptable.

"Families do have  rights," Appel said, "not to be abused by other 
family members who might be  using drugs or alcohol."

Appel also  advised parents to confront a teenager with their 
suspicions. "If you think  there's a problem," he explained, "there 
is a problem." Parents, Appel  said, should be aware of local 
resources for intervention, treatment,  medication, and support.

Bishop  recommended that parents become what he called, "responsible 
adults." In  addition to keeping communication open with teens, 
parents, he said, must stay  connected with other parents for 
information and support. Bishop said she  believes that parents 
should encourage teens to be part of a group or activity  through 
church, school, a job or sports to experience a healthy sense of 
belonging. And, since she advises parents to model coping skills to 
their kids, Bishop also reminded parents to keep track of themselves, 
to know where to go  when they feel overwhelmed.

Personal  experiences Susan Ackerman, a  local resident and parent of 
a son diagnosed as an alcoholic and addicted  substance abuser at age 
15, and Paolo Carvalho, an 18-year-old in recovery,  provided 
information from personal experience. Ackerman said she  had missed 
the signs of her son's problems for two years and was blindsided by 
his addiction when he was 15. She found Al-Anon supportive as an 
alternative to  isolation and negativism. Eventually, Ackerman had to 
put her son into  residential treatment and let him deal with his 
issues. "Letting go,"  Ackerman said, "does not mean stopping 
caring...success starts with  acknowledging that there's a problem."

Carvalho said his  problems started when he made the transition to 
high school and was exposed to  the older students. He said that once 
he started using, he stopped listening to  his parents. When his 
addiction became out of control, Carvalho said, he lied to  and stole 
from friends and family to support his habit. He was afraid to tell 
his family that he had a problem. "The best thing  that happened to 
me," Carvalho said, "was getting caught." Questions from  the 
audience focused on the early warning signs of substance abuse. 
According to Prince, although some changes in behavior, sleep 
patterns, interests and friends  are normal, too many is not. Other 
warning signs include changes in a child's  schoolwork and grades, 
exhibiting symptoms of depression and breaking rules.

"If a kid is not  comfortable coming to a parent," Appel said, "then 
there is a problem."

Bishop  recommended that parents keep in touch with other adults who 
might see their  child on a regular basis and who can note any 
changes. Students have an  opportunity to become aware of warning 
signs as well. The dangers of substance  abuse are part of the 
curriculum in all of the district's schools.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman