Troubled Teens Resources

In this day and age of text messaging and virtual gaming, many teens aren’t able to develop the social skills of yesterday. This thought begs the question: Is technology crippling the upcoming generations of teens? Some say it is so.

Text messaging is a great way to notify someone if your running late for a meeting or for a simple reminder to take out the trash, but to many teens, it has become their main form of communication. Have you ever tried to call your teenager to talk to them, they don’t answer but respond with a text message of “what do ya want?” Instead of the common courtesy of a call back, they use this crutch form of communication.

Virtual gaming is a big influence on teenagers and adolescents. You can become anything you want to be and you can be successful with enough practice on the screen. Many teens who struggle with social skills find they’re comfortable with a more virtual world. Instead of working on their ability to communicate in a social setting, they opt to completely phase out reality and become a virtual warrior or soldier. School shootings and other adolescent tragedies and crimes can and have been linked to virtual gaming.

There is an epidemic in today’s America; there are more troubled teens than ever before! Technology has aided in causing this epidemic. Parents are struggling to maintain control over their defiant teens. With laws that limit a parent’s ability to discipline, some parents don’t know what to do or where to turn for help in their family crisis.

If you are struggling with a defiant teen and need help contact Troubled Teens’  at 1-866-495-840.

You already have a troubled teen that you have successfully placed in a boarding school with an excellent drug therapy program. You are reassured of her progress and grateful that you were able to find a boarding school, or in this case, a brat camp that met your teens emotional needs and academic requirements.
But you are now thinking ahead to when your two toddlers enter into the higher grades and become subject to the influence of drug abusing peers. There wasn’t much in the way of community support available for you when you were seeking placement of your older child and you want to see that change.
There are many programs to explore. One such interesting program is Parent Corps.

“The Parent Corps is a new, national effort dedicated to helping parents prevent their children from using alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. Modeled on the same principles as the Peace Corps, it harnesses the power of parents working together to keep their children drug free. The Parent Corps recruits, trains, certifies, and pays part-time or full-time salaries to Parent Leaders for two years of service. It institutionalizes the parent movement of the late 1970s into the early 1990s. That movement proved it could change social norms and get results, cutting past-month drug use by two-thirds among adolescents and young adults between 1979 and 1992.
[…]
Drug prevention programs have been around for a long time. Some are aimed at parents, most are aimed at children. Nearly all provide short-term courses on the dangers of drugs and ways to avoid use.

The Parent Corps is an ongoing process that offers parents a strong peer support network grounded by a Parent Leader. Like the neighborhood of yesterday, where everyone looked after every child on the street, Parent Leaders alert parents to the marketing machine behind drugs and help them immunize children against it. The vision is to have Parent Leader in every school in the country by 2014.”

What do Parent Leaders do?

• contact all parents in the school
• educate them about how drugs affect children
• teach them about how children are at risk
• persuade them to believe research showing that they are the most powerful influences in their children’s lives
• mobilize them into groups that stop the marketing of drugs to children
• create a support network that fosters the growth of healthy children capable of reaching their full potential

You can find out how to start a Parent Corps for your community here.

“Hi every1. I haven’t been happy in a very long time. I have been crying and feeling very lonely. I miss my old school and don’t have a lot of friends. I realli hate my stupid fuckin life. I just saw my therapist and lately I have been crying at the end of my therapy appointments. My parents want me to try an after-school activity but I’m scared about dat cuz I ain’t good at meeting new ppl. I’m worried kids might make fun of me cuz I have Asperger’s Syndrome. I need to make friends and feel better soon or else my parents will send me to boarding school next year and I don’t want dat! What should I do? sum1 plz help”
(source)

“…very lonely…miss old school…ain’t good at meeting new people…or else my parents will send me to boarding school.”

Loneliness, a sense of not belonging, fear of new people, fear of being misunderstood; all factors that could easily lead this troubled teen to abusing drugs or other self-destructive behavior.

A military school or placement into a teen therapy program at an accredited boarding school is the very plan of action that could save this at-risk teen from losing their life all together. Yet, it sounds as if the parents have perhaps used the idea of a boarding school as a threat as opposed to discussing it with their troubled teen as a positive solution for her loneliness and sense of ostracism.

It is very important that parents of troubled teens not resort to presenting a boarding school solution as a threat or punishment. For a trouble teen with this combination of emotional disturbances, it is the exact environment where she or he can safely work out their problems, safe from the lure of drugs or other destructive means of escaping emotional pain.

A good boarding school will be able to address all of a troubled teen’s issues, providing he or she with excellent coping skills, assisting the troubled teen in developing their talents and strengths, teaching them healthy methods of dealing with depression and loneliness. Unfortunately, the solutions teens may seek outside of an effective teen treatment program and without the protective isolation a good boarding school are all too often found in drugs or alcohol abuse. In a sound teen treatment program in an accredited boarding school, the at-risk teen is given an even playing field to heal, not subject to the additional pressure of being tempted to use drugs or alcohol as a means of coping.

A parent who is considering sending their troubled teen to a brat camp or boarding school would be well advised to present such a solution in a positive light, not as a threat, but as an empowering opportunity for growth.

There are many a weary parent who could relate to the distress that Britney Spears has put her family through with continuing relapses into self-abusive and addicted behavior. It is unfortunate that the first stint at rehab the troubled teen undergoes doesn’t always end in success - such is the pernicious hold drug addiction has on it’s users.

While considering a boarding school or other residential treatment program, the last thing a parent needs to hear is that it might not be enough. It is not a commentary on the effectiveness of boot camps or boarding schools but a testament to how thoroughly addiction becomes part of addict’s life.

“In fact, the Partnership For A Drug Free America sums it up this way: “To be sure, some people can quit drug use ‘cold turkey,’ or they can quit after receiving treatment just one time at a rehabilitation facility. But most of those who abuse drugs require longer-term treatment and, in many instances, repeated treatments.”

The severity of the addiction determines whether or not the abuser is given treatment as an outpatient or as participant in a residential program. Residential programs are extremely effective for those with severe addiction because they intensify the amount of treatment the participant receives on a daily basis.”

The excerpts above are from a Fox News piece - well worth the read - that goes over the differences between residential treatment programs available at brat camps and boarding schools and the alternative of choosing an outpatient therapy program. Often a parent’s choice is dictated by finances and other
variables. However, with all of the resources on the internet as well as assistance obtained from their teen’s school counselors and therapist, parents will discover that they will be very well prepared to choose which boarding school or treatment program best serves their troubled teen.

It would be funny if it were not such an apt example of the degree of frustration that can visit a parent or teacher in the face of the behavioral problems of teens with AD/HD.
Obviously this teacher’s solution is the wrong way to handle it.

“A substitute teacher who taped a student’s mouth shut and bound four others to their seats at Pleasant Grove Elementary School was banned from working in Jefferson County schools one day after the incident.”

Unfortunately,right on the heels of AD/HD can come calling a laundry list of other problems with an at-risk teenager; low-self esteem, poor grades,rage, hostility and drug abuse. When trying to raise a teenager who’s behavior embodies all of these contributors, the parent is forced to consider alternative educational options. Though most public schools have excellent programs for the AD/HD inflicted teen, they are not adequately equipped to deal with AD/HD compounded by other behavioral disorders.

A key characteristic of the AD/HD afflicted teenager is the need for structure. Military schools with teen therapy programs, brat schools and teen wilderness programs will provide the troubled teen with exactly the amount of discipline, authority and structure they need.

A school counselor or the teenager’s therapist will be able to provide the parent of the troubled teen with guidance in selecting the appropriate boarding school environment.

Here are some coping skills that will assist your AD/HD teenager until an apprpriate program can be found.

• Sit in the front of class to limit distractions.
• Turn off email, instant messaging, and your phone when doing homework or other tasks that require focused attention. This will help protect you against being distracted.
• Talk openly with your teacher about your condition and work together to be sure you’re learning in a way that works for you. For example, some schools will allow people with ADHD more time for taking tests. Some teens may benefit from smaller class sizes and tutorial help.
• Use tools that help you stay organized. Keep a homework notebook to keep track of assignments, including a list of books and readings you’ll need to bring home to do them. Write down classes, extracurricular activities, and other appointments in a daily planner so you don’t forget. Keeping a daily agenda can also help you avoid making unplanned, impulsive decisions: If you’re scheduled to start homework at 4:30, you’ll know it’s not a good idea to go with your friend to watch her 4:00 soccer practice. The organization skills you develop now will serve you well in the future, too. Even people who don’t have ADHD all find they need to develop these skills when they head off to the workplace — so you’ll be ahead of the curve!
• Get plenty of exercise. Studies are starting to show that exercise can help people who have ADHD. If you feel hyper during school, talk to a teacher about taking activity breaks so you can stay focused and concentrate better when in class. Take frequent activity breaks while studying or doing homework.
• Practice relaxation and meditation techniques to relax and focus. Try this breathing exercise for starters.
• Let friends know what’s going on. Sometimes with our friends, we blurt things out and regret it later or we do silly, impulsive things. If this happens to you, let your friends know that sometimes you just say things without thinking all the way through, apologize if you have hurt someone’s feelings, and try to be extra careful in new situations.
• Take pride in the things you do well. Having ADHD is just a different way of being, and people with ADHD have their own abilities and talents.