Transcription:
Signs to Look For: Substance Abuse in Teens

Bill Klaproth (Host): Teenage drug abuse has become a major public health issue and a confounding, heart-wrenching problem for many parents. Here to explain more is Dawn Goodman-Martin, clinical addiction counselor at Schneck Medical Center. Dawn, thank you so much for being on with us today. So, let me ask you first: why do teens turn to drags?

Dawn Goodman-Martin (Guest): I think, there are several different reasons. I think probably the biggest one is peer pressure. The access is a lot easier and is more prevalent amongst our adolescents nowadays and there are a lot of pretty scary things out there that teens are dealing with them. It's hard being a teenager and so, a lot of times, we will look to something quick and easy to fix our problems and having the drugs out there in the street a little bit more accessible, unfortunately, puts this in the adolescents’ hands.

Bill: What are the most common drugs that teens use?

Dawn: They are going to use something that’s in the class of an opioid. That is typically what we will see. There are some amphetamines, so things like Ritalin and Adderall out there. At far as the opioids that you are going to see, you are going to see some hydros, some oxycodones. We see Xanax out there and where kids become accessible to them, that I think a lot of parents need to realize is, they get them from a medicine cabinet at their home, or from a neighbor, or a relative, or a friend, that the adults have been prescribed these medications for appropriate reasons, but they are left there. You know, a lot of times, people will keep medicine long after they need them, in case there's another episode later on, and these kids know this and they will go through medicine cabinets. That’s where the easiest access for children is, is actually in their parents’ own medicine cabinet.

Bill: So, Job One would be to go through the medicine cabinet and clear out all leftover drugs then.

Dawn: Well, absolutely. We really don't advocate the flushing down the toilet. Our local and all local police departments will have a take back place, where you can walk in and tell them that you have these prescription drug and you would like to have them dispose of them. That's always a place to get rid of drugs--that prescription that you don't need any more. Hospitals, ours does that as well, but many other hospitals will have a place that you can give your old prescription drugs, that would include particularly narcotics, too. Your family's physician is another place that you can do that. We also encourage parents not only to go through the medicine cabinet and any kind of controlled substance. So, when I say "controlled substance”, if you're showing your ID at a pharmacy for a prescription, that's going to be a controlled substance. And so, anything like that that might be in your medicine cabinet, that you are not using, or need, I definitely encourage parents to dispose of those properly. If they are things that a parent is prescribed to appropriately and needs those, then we also always encourage the parents to lock their medications so that it is in a secure place and it is just keeps everyone safe in the house. A lot of times, it’s not just their kids. Kids have friends over and they socialize and so you never know who may be going through your medicine cabinet, unfortunately.

Bill: And, Dawn, what are the signs of teen drug abuse?

Dawn: You know, I think number one, right there, is your parents, please be engaged in your children's lives. We are such busy people, but the more we're engaged in our lives, parents know their kids better than anyone. So, you are going to be likely to notice if there is some unusual moodiness, maybe missing school or their homework, failure to uphold responsibilities. Maybe you get some complaints from school, increased lying, loss of interest in activities that might have been a lot of fun for them. Also, too, locked doors--isolation. Teenagers do like to be isolated in your home, but, you know, I am talking about things that are little bit out of the ordinary for your child. Maybe changes in their peer group, changes in their appearance or clothes, long disappearances, maybe running away or sneaking out of the house, missing items. So, those are some of the behavioral things that we see a lot with adolescents that parents can certainly keep an eye on. But, again, parents know their children better than anyone and how you do that is being actively involved with them.

Bill: And, what should a parent do, then, if they suspect their teen is using drugs?

Dawn: The first thing is to confront them. It is to really talk to them about noticeable changes in behavior. Also, working in partnership with the school. You know, they have some teachers, maybe, that a parent can talk to with that. And, number one get help, absolutely the first thing is to get help. If you are suspecting that your child is, unfortunately, under the influence of an illegal drug, call 9-1-1 or go to the emergency center just to make sure that there isn't anything medically wrong with them and call. Make some calls. Every area has some type of a crisis line, whether it be your local community health center, maybe a hospital, or even a family doctor is a really good place for parents to make that first contact with them at the doctor saying "You know, I think my child maybe involved in some drugs. What can I do? " Family doctors are very, very important in our health care today and they usually have great resources, that would be appropriate for that particular child.

Bill: Right. I wonder if many parents may think, "You know when I was their age, I dabbled and I turned out fine. They're just experimenting. They’re just dabbling. I don't have to worry about them.” What's the distinction? Many teens experiment with drugs. What constitutes addiction?

Dawn: You know, that's a really, really good question and it's not always so cut and dry. You know, addiction can be genetically predisposed. That someone in the family may have had that and it has kind of transferred down the line through the genetic coding, but it also can be around environment and so, those warning signs that we looked at, that could be a cry for help. One of those things that, as far as an addiction, I think, the biggest number one sign is a loss of control, and that drinking or using a substance more than what that person wants to or for longer than what they intended, can actually start to be the very first signs of developing an addiction. You know, risk taking. We see that with adolescents. Knowing that their friend may have used this, so it's okay for them. That's not the case nowadays. We see some very dangerous drugs out there. Things that, you know, their friend told them that it was this one substance, but it actually might be mixed with something else. So, there are actually some pretty deadly things out there. So, you know, I think, again, the big thing is helping parents recognize that there is some unusual behavior, confronting your child, getting them in maybe to a family physician, asking for help, because as family member, I think that, you know, as a parent myself, we want to do what’s best for our children. Sometimes we just don't know and we need that support out there. The sooner that we can identify a problem, the easier it is to fix, the easier is to make those changes before it becomes something that can be very much out of control. It just makes it so much easier and better results if we can really identify and get some immediate help.

Bill: Immediate there is the key because waiting, quite frankly, could be deadly.

Dawn: I think, if you brought up something very good. In the past, we may have said they might have been experimenting. With the deadly drugs that we have out on the street and that are so readily available to the kids, unfortunately, I really think, immediate help is really what we have to start looking at parents, that maybe we didn't, per se, look at the several years ago.

Bill: So, as far as treatment goes, I know that if you're an alcoholic, treatment would be different than somebody that’s suffering from a heroin addiction. Can you just give me a general overview of what the treatment process is?

Dawn: The first thing that happens is to get a very good thorough assessment. So, as you're were talking about, alcohol and heroin might be different. Actually, I think, the best approach is to treat regardless of what the substance is as an addiction because the thinking processes are actually the same. The substances might be different but the thinking process is the same. And so, getting us thorough view of what that person may really have some difficulty with is a first step for treatment. Once you're in treatment, then there are various types of treatments that are available. There's individual, there's group, there's intensive treatment, there’s residential. So, just as there are different people at different levels, there are different types of treatment available. That’s what is very, very important is getting a good, sound evaluation so that a specialist can actually refer or put that adolescent into what is most appropriate for them. Many times, we're not just dealing with addictions but we're also dealing with anxiety or we're dealing with depression and it is important to treat all of that at the same time. And, especially with adolescents, we’re dealing with families. So, it's just a lot of different things that have to be looked at and developed during treatment at that same time.

Bill: That is really important distinction and that there is a common thread between somebody that turns the alcohol or, say, heroin. They're all trying to do the same thing. They're dealing with anxiety or depression or they're trying to kill the pain in some way. So, that's really important to know. And, Dawn, why should someone choose Schneck Medical Center for their addiction treatment?

Dawn: One of the things that we do really well here is we offer a lot of different resources and I think we can be that first line of resources. We do intensive treatment here one-on-one in our own clinic. Most of the time, we see adults but we do do a very thorough evaluation. We also work with any of our patients that might be in hospital over a long period of time. We work with them beside. We are also really good at reaching out to people that may come into our facility and whether they are appropriate for our particular treatment, that's one thing, but we also will make referrals outside in the community because it's not about the particular treatment, it’s about making sure that that person gets referred to what resource is most appropriate. And, that’s something I think we really do well at Schneck is we are very engaged with community. We’re a big community supporter and what is going on out in the world of addiction and how to get a different people connected to the appropriate resources.

Bill: Well, thank you so much, Dawn Goodman-Martin, clinical addiction counselor at Schneck Medical Center. For more information visit www.schneckmed.org. That's www.schneckmed.org. This is Schneck Radio. I am Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.