Troubled Teens Resources

Schools for troubled teens, military boarding schools and other specialty schools all have tales similar to the one excerpted below. It speaks to the simple but powerful efficacy of discipline and sports. These are principles that professionals in the field of teen metal health will all attest to. So will the parent of the young man described here.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder combined with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder can be a monumental handicap, as one teen and his desperate parents discovered…

“In the classroom… he grew up engaged in a daily struggle – wanting to focus on reading, writing and arithmetic, but unable to do so….
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He felt alienated from his classmates and teachers, a feeling that was reinforced through violent clashes with fellow students.”
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Nothing prepares a parent for something like this, and Travis readily admits he and Heather were ill-equipped to deal with young Brent. They sought out as much information as possible on O.D.D. and ADHD, but books and pamphlets only go so far…
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Salvation for the Dicus family didn’t come in the form of a Ritalin pill or some well-meaning but ineffectual art therapy. It came in the form of an oblong ball and a green field 110 yards in length and 65 yards wide. Life started to change when Brent discovered football.

Travis and Heather knew their boy needed an outlet for his energy, somewhere he could go to hit people and get away with it. The traits that made Brent such a handful off the field were a great asset to him between the sidelines.
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Though she was skeptical early, Heather Dicus soon came to appreciate the discipline supplied to her son by his coaches, who made him run laps and do sit-ups when he got out of line. Off the field she saw tangible results. He was becoming manageable, to the point where he hardly needed any medication during football season.

It didn’t happen overnight, but by the time Brent got to Grade 7 he was ready to leave that medication behind. ”

(Source)