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Recovery High Schools |
Robert Seith
| CWK Network |
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“I needed a place where I could feel safe again and be able to recover and not have drugs around me all the time.”
– Catie Esstman, 16 years old.
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For drug-addicted
kids who’ve been through rehab… one of the biggest
risks they take is returning to their old high school. According
to government surveys, 60 percent of teenagers say it’s easy
to get drugs at school. But for some kids, today there’s
another option.
Sixteen-year-old Valerie Eason describes what a typical day used
to be like, “I’d wake up in the morning, get high.
Go to school, get high. Lunch break, get high. After school, get
high.”
And Valerie says most of the drugs she used… she got at
school.
“There’s been a lot of times when I was at public
high school that I honestly did have the desire that I wanted to
get clean and I didn’t want to do drugs anymore,” says
Valerie, “But everywhere I would turn there were so many
drugs that I didn’t know what to do.”
But then she found a different kind of high schoolcalled
a “recovery high school”,designed for recovering
addicts.
“The key point is that this is a place where a recovering
student can come and not feel threatened by alcohol and drug use
in the environment by one’s peers,” says School Director
Andrew Finch, Ph.D.
At the school,every student is regularly tested for drugs.
The day is split between classes and either group or individual
therapy.
All the students must be in a recovery program…. outside of
school.
And finally, students police each other.
“You know me, being a drug addict, I can tell another drug
addict from a mile away,” says Valerie.
“They’re our best eyes and ears,” agrees Finch, “The
staff is talented in addressing that, but we can really rely on
the students to call it out.”
No long-term studies have been done, but the director estimates
that 80 percent of kids are clean a year after graduation… compared
to only 20 percent of addicts who return to regular high schools.
“To ask them to go back into their own high school after
treatment is the equivalent of asking an adult after treatment
to go take a job at a bar,” says Finch.
“If I were at a public school I couldn’t tell you
if I’d still be clean,” says Valerie, “And I
think a lot of people just don’t know about these kind of
schools. It would be great if they would make more of them because
it saved my life.”
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By Larry Eldridge
CWK Network, Inc.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
describes adolescence as a “time for trying new things.” Teens
use alcohol and drugs for many reasons, including curiosity, because it feels
good, to reduce stress, to feel grown up or to fit in. Teens at risk of developing
serious drug and alcohol problems include those …
- With a family history of substance abuse.
- Who are depressed.
- Who have low self-esteem.
- Who feel like they don’t fit in or are out of the mainstream.
If your child is a former drug addict who has gone through rehab,
one of the most trying times for him or her will be as he or she
gets re-acclimated into the everyday routine. Schools can be particularly
trying, especially if that’s where your child’s experimentation
began. If your child returns to his or her former school or enrolls
in a recovery school, be aware of the warning signs that your child
may be relapsing. These may include …
- Fatigue, repeated health complaints, red and glazed eyes, and
a lasting cough.
- Personality change, sudden mood changes, irritability, irresponsible
behavior, low self-esteem, poor judgment, depression and a general
lack of interest.
- Starting arguments, breaking rules or withdrawing from the family.
- Decreased interest, negative attitudes, drop in grades, many
absences, truancy and discipline problems.
- New friends who are less interested in standard home and school
activities, problems with the law, and changes to less conventional
styles in dress and music.
Peer pressure is one of the most difficult inducements faced by
teens to use illegal substances. Experts at the Hazelden Foundation
have created the following model that a teen might follow in dealing
with pressure to use drugs or alcohol:
- Ask questions – Size up the situation before “going
along.” For example, a classmate might say, “Hey, lets
go hang out at the mall” – and have shoplifting in mind.
To be responsible, ask, “What are we going to do? How long
will we be there?” These questions will help you make informed
decisions before getting into a problem situation.
- Name the trouble – After you identify the situation,
you need to state the possible problem: “That sounds like
trouble to me.”
- State the consequences – Use the threat of punishment
as an excuse not to drink. Say something such as, “My parents
would ground me for months,” or “I could get kicked off
the soccer team.”
- Offer an alternative – If a friend invites you
to drink or use drugs, suggest an alternative. “Lets go get
pizza.” If the friend pressures you more, walk away, but leave
the door open. You could say, “Hey, that’s fine. Go
do your thing. You’re welcome to join me later.”
- Get out of trouble – Should you find yourself in
a problem situation, get out immediately and call a responsible
adult for help.
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By Larry Eldridge
CWK Network, Inc.
Drugs are a threat to almost every child,
and one of the best ways to help ensure your child will make the right decisions
when faced with choices regarding substance abuse is to confront the issue
with your child as early as possible. Experts at the American Academy of
Pediatrics list the following as ways to address the subject of substance
abuse with your child:
- Talk with your child honestly. Don’t wait to have “the
drug talk” with your child. Make discussions about tobacco,
alcohol and other drugs part of your daily conversation. Know the
facts about how drugs can harm your child. Clear up any wrong information,
such as “everybody drinks” or “marijuana won’t hurt
you.”
- Really listen to your child. Encourage your child to share questions
and concerns about tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Do not do
all the talking or give long lectures.
- Help your child develop self-confidence. Look for all the good
things in your child – and then tell your child how proud
you are. If you need to correct your child, criticize the action,
not your child. Praise your child’s efforts as well as successes.
- Help your child develop strong values. Talk about your family
values. Teach your child how to make decisions based on these standards
of right and wrong. Explain that these are the standards for your
family, no matter what other families might decide.
- Be a good example. Look at your own habits and thoughts about
tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Your actions speak louder than
words.
- Help your child deal with peer pressure and acceptance. Discuss
the importance of being an individual and the meaning of real friendships.
Help your child understand that he/she does not have to do something
wrong just to feel accepted. Remind your child that a real friend
won’t care if he/she does not use tobacco, alcohol or other drugs.
- Make family rules that help your child say “no.” Talk
with your child about your expectation that he/she will say “no” to
drugs. Spell out what will happen if he/she breaks these rules.
Be prepared to follow through, if necessary.
- Encourage healthy, creative activities. Look for ways to get
your child involved in athletics, hobbies, school clubs and other
activities that reduce boredom and excess free time. Encourage
positive friendships and interests. Look for activities that you
and your child can do together.
- Team up with other parents. Work with other parents to build
a drug-free environment for children. When parents join together
against drug use, they are much more effective than when they act
alone. One way is to form a parent group with the parents of your
child’s friends. The best way to stop a child from using drugs
is to stop friends from using them.
- Know what to do if your child has a drug problem. Realize that
no child is immune to drugs. Learn the signs of drug use. Take
seriously any concerns you hear from friends, teachers and/or other
kids about your child’s possible drug use. Trust your instincts.
If you truly feel that something is wrong with your child, it probably
is. If there’s a problem, seek professional help.
According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
at Columbia University (CASA), parents are the key to keeping kids
drug-free. CASA research shows that the extent to which parents take
a “hands-on” approach in raising their kids, the more
they establish appropriate rules and standards of behavior, and the
more they monitor their teens, the lower the teen’s risk of
substance abuse. “Hands-on,” according to CASA, includes
parents who consistently take 10 or more of the following 12 actions:
- Monitor what their teens watch on television
- Monitor what they do on the Internet
- Put restrictions on the music (CDs) they buy
- Know where their teens are after school and on weekends
- Expect to be and are told the truth by their teens about where they are going
- Are “very aware” of their teen’s academic performance
- Impose a curfew
- Make clear they would be “extremely upset” if their teen used pot
- Eat dinner with their teens six or seven times a week
- Turn off the television during dinner
- Assign their teens regular chores
- Have an adult present when the teens return from school
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American Academy of Pediatrics
The Hazelden Foundation
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse |
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