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Introducing Our Troubled Teens

Introducing Our Troubled Teens

Share your thoughts and concerns about your troubled teen here.

Teens Troubled Introducing

Name: Vanessa
Country:

Comments: I"m the mother of a "difficult" teen.

You know the story"¦"¦we tried counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, medications, sports, discipline, reward systems"¦"¦nothing worked.

You also know what most people thought, even if they didn't say it - "If you"d been a better parent, you"d have a better child".

Finally it was more serious - police, 3-day stints in jail, probation, drug testing"¦"¦my husband became our son's chauffer to the (seemingly) hundreds of court-mandated meetings.

When our son was 15 we sold our house to raise the cash to send him to Wilderness Therapy in Oregon, followed by Wilderness Boarding school, also in Oregon. After hearing the horror stories of "Boot Camps" and behavior modification camps I spent many, many, many hours trying to find the RIGHT place for our son.

And I thought I had. He excelled. The staff said he was wonderful - that he progressed through the education plans faster than anyone else ever had. We had hope for the first time in years and years. AND - no one was looking at us like we were 'the bad guys".

I believe my son was born the way he is. Something in his brain pre-determined that he would suffer from OCD, ADHD, depression, anxiety"¦..the list goes on. The psychiatrists GUESSED at what he had, by asking questions. They prescribed medications - but they did not work. Perhaps they did not work because the diagnosis was wrong. Without an accurate diagnosis, you can't provide accurate treatment.

It wasn't available when my son was 15 - but now, because of my education & work background, and because of the everyday hell (still) of being around my son, I work for a company called [..]. We do a special kind of brain scan that can help accurately diagnose the brain's disturbance. Granted, each brain is different, but brains with OCD have certain similarities, as do brains with anxiety or ADHD"¦..or any other disorder.

My son is now 20, and I"m afraid he's lost. He's getting worse, more violent, less personally responsible, and drinking a substantial amount.

Had I had his brain scanned 5 years ago, I might have gotten the RIGHT answer, so we could have the right diagnosis, and therefore the right treatment. He could have seen the picture of what was inside his head, and it would have helped him understand that he wasn't "bad" - just that he needed the right kind of help.

I"ve had to turn numb to survive. Please don't let that happen to you.
Thinking of all of you - and feeling your pain.