Troubled Teens Resources

Any parent who has researched Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder will tell you that it can be a depressing venture. Worse case scenarios are that an undiagnosed ADHD teen will be more likely to do drugs, deal with more severe emotional issues and may even end up attending schools for troubled teens, or drug rehab.

Then some speculative research is interesting and, if nothing else, gives food for thought.Much has been said in the last year about the fact that technology exacerbates conditions such as ADHD.

“In his book, Cleary cites research performed Oxford University neuroscience professor Susan Greenfield as noting in part “that the ubiquity of digital technology is altering the shape and chemistry of our brains, and that violent video games and intense online interactivity can generate mental disorders such as autism, attention deficit disorder, and hyperactivity.”

Another viewpoint hypothesizes that ADHD might be a “favorable evolutionary adaptation to our tech-centric world…”

“…the increase in ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) among the “Millennium Generation” of younger people could actually be the start of an “evolutionary adaptation” to the increasingly fast-paced world of digital technology.

…video games, texting, and other online applications are best performed by minds with the circuitry to jump at a nanosecond’s notice back and forth from screen to screen and application to application.

Following this proposition forward, the seeming inability of some younger folks to concentrate on just one thing, one thought, one application, could be attributed to a rewiring of neurons to keep up with the herky-jerky pace of life.”

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Treatment for teenagers diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder certainly comes down decisively in two camps. There are those parents who do not see medication to be ultimately effective, fearing that an addictive tendency might be activated. The opposing side welcomes the availability of medication, many families finding it to be the necessary corrective to get their teen back on track.

Those in the latter camp may be interested in a new test that is reported to be able facilitate an accurate diagnosis and the correct medication immediately.

“A Fullerton clinical psychologist is one of three in the nation using the new Qb test to identify attention deficit disorder linked to a database in Sweden.
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He said the test, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, posts 99.9 percent accuracy.

“Usually, when a teacher suspects ADD, a written test is given to find out if the child is, for example, messy and forgetful,” Reicks said. “The child has no say.

“The new system relies on a child’s body movement and ability to concentrate simultaneously,” he said. “We can tell in one minute through the Internet if the child has ADD or attention deficit hyperactive disorder.”

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A diagnosis of ADHD can send parents reeling. Indeed it has precipitated any number of teen crisis intervention programs in an effort to be able to intervene early enough to provide corrective therapy - either medication or behavioral therapy - before harm is done to a teen’s school career. Hopefully this new test will prove to be a boon for parents struggling with this issue.

Troubled teenagers are often diagnosed with ADHD or ODD. Parents are then set with the task of reviewing that diagnosis and accepting or rejecting it’s conclusions. They then may opt for a program of prescribed medication or one of the many emerging behavioral programs designed to assist the at risk teen with the symptoms of ADHD or ODD.

Like every issue there are two sides and there is a very large group of mental health professionals, as well as parents, who have problems with such diagnosis and challenge the conclusions that dictate that ADD/ODD symptoms represent behavioral problems or that such behavior requires psychiatric care.

“Over six million children in the US are on drugs that control the symptoms of so-called Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD. There are millions of kids on anti-depressant and anti-psychotic drugs. Despite the clinical hype surrounding these drugs, the actual clinical methods employed for diagnosis are bogus to non-existent. For the most part the average psychiatrist bases his/her clinical assessments on guidelines that support the preconceptions and prejudices of the profession.

There is absolutely no basis for describing ADD or ADHD as “a disease”, because psychiatry cannot establish any clinical data that offers a clear biological cause for this behavior across-the- board. Clinical jargon to justify their efforts to render non-conformist behavior “pathological”, is a long way from proving ADD is a disease.”

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Specialty schools and schools for troubled teens often have behavioral programs that address what some call simple rebellion. They concentrate on teaching the teen how to manage conflicting emotions, criticism and failure. They train the teen in the disciplines necessary to live a productive life.

Parents simply must study both sides of the issue and then see which school of thought best addresses the behavioral problems that their troubled teenagers are exhibiting.

Troubled teenagers typically spend an inordinate amount of time plugged into some kind of media. As many public school institutions have dropped gym programs, fewer and fewer teenagers get regular exercise or ever go outdoors except to get into cars and buses and go indoors somewhere else.

One parent was amazed to find children at his kid’s summer camp who had never, ever spent a night camping or in a wilderness situation. Teens at risk who have never had the chance to leave their inner city homes have never seen acres and acres of wide open spaces.

And of course, studies are now making the rounds pinpointing this cave-like behavior as the cause of a number of adolescent ills, from obesity, ADHD to teen age drug abuse.

“Society is sending an unintended message to children - nature is past, electronics are the future and the boogeyman lives in the woods,” Louv wrote in a 2005 article in The Oregonian. “The script is delivered in schools, families, even organizations devoted to the outdoors and codified into the legal and regulatory structures of many of our communities. This message is effectively banning much of the kind of play we enjoyed as children.”

Outdoor classrooms have proved to curb attention deficit disorder, and they also boost test scores, grade-point averages and problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, Louv writes.”

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America is rich with parks; city parks, state parks, wildlife preserves. If you have to rent a car for the week-end, make the effort to acquaint your teenagers with the great outdoors.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder varies in intensity and attendant impairment with each diagnosis. Some teenagers are able to manage getting a handle on their ADD symptoms before the usual problems with ADD escalate into anything worse.

However, some children remain undiagnosed and emerge as the stereotypical troubled teenager, beset by behavioral problems, drug abuse, and lost time in school.

Fortunately there are youth camps as well as troubled teen boarding schools that offer a whole constellation of programs and therapies for the at risk ADD teenager.

“Camp Avanti in Hudson is designed for children coping with learning and neurological disorders such as attention-deficit disorder, autism and Asperger’s disorder, which is a high-functioning form of autism. The activities are designed to build confidence, coordination and camaraderie.

“It’s just the best camp ever,” said Joan Soward, of River Falls, Wis. Her son, Nick, 10, completed his fourth camp this weekend, and his brother Michael, 6, completed his first. Both boys have sensory integration problems.

“When they come here, they are accepted for who they are,” Soward said. “Outside here, other kids look at them like they aren’t quite right. But here they fit in.”

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“Fit in.” Two simple very telling words. So many parents complain that once their teen was labelled “special needs” after diagnosis, fitting in was no longer an option. Public education was never meant to deal with teenage problems and though they do they best, many parent find private boarding schools offers the best choice for their troubled teen.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can be handled by a variety of methods. With more and more parents becoming displeased with dispensing drugs to their put of control teens, a variety of new programs have started emerging with an emphasis on behavior modification, nature and, gaining in attention, nutritional solutions.

“The quality of food we eat (or lack thereof) has a profound affect on Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD. For many people, nutrition alone can effectively work as an ADHD alternative treatment.

A growing body of research points to nutritional deficiencies - especially with essential fatty acids and amino acids - as a contributing factor of Attention Deficit Disorder and learning deficiencies.”

Studies consistently indicate that troubled teenagers treated with Ritalin are still at high risk for teen age drug abuse and severe behavioral problems. The arguments for controlling ADHD by nutrition assert that, though not all teens respond, a sufficient number report great success, justifying that the nutritional approach be more widely encouraged.

“Fatty acids are used to make brain and nerve tissue in the body and are crucial for proper growth, mental function, the immune system and brain development. The body cannot produce the two fatty acids families, Omega-3 and Omega-6, on its own and therefore must receive these key Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD nutrition ingredients through diet and supplementation.

Although the typical Western diet is high in the Omega-6 family of fatty acids (found in corn, sunflower, canola and safflower oil, margarine, vegetable oil and shortening), most Americans young and old are highly deficient in Omega-3.”

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Attention deficit hyperactive disorder has recently been viewed as amenable to treatment that simply involves getting teenagers outside, away from iPods,video games,TV,and all the sedentary ways that accompany those habits. Though we mostly hear from health specialists from the American perspective, doctors in England are making similar studies.

“For too long we have seriously underestimated the benefits nature has for the health of our nation. Everyone, from government to charities like the RSPB to private landowners, needs to work together to give people more access to nature.”

Parents who are considering enrolling their teen in a troubled teen boarding school might want to consider the lay of the land around it. Is it located where the beauty of nature can be one of the healing elements in your troubled teen’s recovery? Does the school offer a wilderness camp type of experience?
Here are some of the benefits all of us derive from interaction with nature:

• People’s stress levels fell within minutes of contact with nature.
• Hospital patients with views of nature needed fewer painkillers following operations.
• Elderly people with easy access to nature are much happier with their quality of life.
• Nature aids the part of the brain that controls irritability, helping to reduce violent behaviour.
• Playing in a natural environment improved children’s concentration, self-discipline and their social and mental development, as well as reducing the symptoms of conditions like attention deficit disorder (ADHD).

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Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder certainly seems a precursor for teen age drug abuse and out-of-control behavior when handled incorrectly or left undiagnosed. The likelihood of a troubled teen falling more into a negative and resentful mind frame as a result of ADD related poor school performance and erratic behavior is almost certain unless interventions are introduced.

Such an intervention worked wonders for one ADD teen.

“Like other high school graduates, Isaac Castleberry feels a little uncertain about his future. But not so long ago, the future seemed even darker. A lifetime of struggling with attention-deficit disorder and a learning disability in reading had left the teenager and his parents, Charlotte and Frank Castleberry of Gainesville, frustrated and searching for answers.

School simply didn’t work.

“My son was putting in time,” said his mother.

Graduation with a B average seemed improbable at one time.

But Isaac, now 18, has accomplished just that through Success Oriented Achievement Realized, or SOAR, a North Carolina-based “high-adventure program” for students and adults with learning disabilities and attention-deficit disorder or attention-deficit hyperactive disorder.

“Looking back, if I could have (gone to the school) my whole life, I would have,” Isaac said.”
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It is an all too common example where public schools, for all their best efforts, failed to work effectively. Be it a troubled teen boarding school with programs similar to SOAR, or summer brat camps or a military boarding school, parents often find the most effective therapies and behavioral programs outside the mainstream public school system.

Attention Deficit Disorder always gets a bad rap. That is probably not conducive to overcoming it. When only emphasizing all the myriad problems attending an ADD diagnosis, we fail to see how we can bend ADD to work for us. The troubled teen indeed seems always to have this disorder, and yes, that does often crescendo into drinking, dangerous behavior and teen age drug abuse. But, if it were managed well from the beginning, it also has the potential to be equally empowering.

As with all conditions, a constellation of underlying factors determine the severity or disruptiveness of ADD, but even so, the following 5 pointers by Jennifer Koretsky are worth noting. The remaining 5 points can be read by following the link below.

1. Compassion
People with ADD have a tremendous power to connect with other people. But it goes a step further than that. We also have an advanced ability to empathize with others, and to see many different perspectives.

2. Creativity
I’ve never met an ADDer who wasn’t creative! Writers, painters, musicians, film makers, designers, sculptors, comedians - the list goes on! Artistic talents are abundant. Composers Mozart and Beethoven are believed to have had ADD.

3. Drive
When an ADDer is bored with a task, completing it can seem like torture. But give an ADDer an interesting project to work on and watch out! When we want to succeed, and we have the necessary tools to do so, there is no stopping us!

4. Problem Solving Ability
ADDers thrive on solving problems and puzzles. Give us an interesting problem to solve and we won’t be able to drop it until we’ve found the solution! Important historical inventors such as Thomas Edison and Thomas Jefferson are believed to have had ADD.
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Attention Deficit Disorder when treated with medication has a definite downside that is not fully or adequately discussed by advocates of Ritalin and other various amphetamines. It can start a troubled teen down the road to addiction. Be it Ritalin or any other mood altering drug, when administered without any attempt to address the behavioral problems sans drugs you are instructing an adolescent that the answer to all of his problems will lie in a pill.

And for teens who experience some kind “high” from their medication, the next step is to see if doubling up on the dose makes them even higher.

“At least one boy admitted to police that he snorted prescription medication in a bathroom at Lake Denoon Middle School on April 3. Four kids had their hands on the bag of attention deficit drugs, according to Muskego police.
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Many drugs now abused by teens are found in the family medicine cabinet.”

Unfortunately,a teens education can be derailed when being treated for ADHD.

“One former addict is not surprised that middle school kids abused attention deficit pills. Jordan Neary, 23, said he started on the same destructive path in his early teens.

“I ended up in the ICU at the age of 16,” he told TODAY’S TMJ4 reporter Tom Murray. “I overdosed right in my high school.

Doctors prescribed Adderall and Ritalin for Neary’s attention deficit disorder, but medical use turned to dangerous abuse.”

The middle school teens now face expulsion and the young man quoted above struggled with his addiction for years before being able to achieve sobriety.

He’s been sober for four years and now counsels incoming addicts at Teen Challenge of Wisconsin, a Christian-based drug rehab program. He said he sees a lot of his own struggle in the people he treats.

“So many of them make statements of how, as a young boy, they started snorting and taking larger amounts of their Ritalin,” he said. “It made them more comfortable with taking a pill.”
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Parents will want to investigate all alternatives to medication and consult with more than one authority before deciding how to work with their teen’s ADD.