Child is using drugs, lying and stealing- need rec for IOP

[Anonymous]

My 14 year old is using marijuana. A lot. During the school day and basically whenever he can. He is lying, sneaking around and stealing in order to do this. He has stopped going to school. He and his friends are also using pills- opiates, extacy. It is literally not possible for me to supervise him 24/7. I think he needs an outpatient program that will get him back on track with school and get his mental health issues under control. I'm looking at SandStone, but please recommend a program. I'm in Maryland near Takoma Park.

[Anonymous]

military school

[Anonymous]

Maybe one of those wilderness programs?

My brother was like this. He he’s had a lifetime of problems and pot and pills were predominately the problem. He’s been in jail for years.

[Anonymous]

OP, do not wait. My friend had this situation and she tried wilderness program, boarding school....she wasted tens of thousands of dollars and now the kid is a high school drop out, still taking advantage of her, crashing with friends, doing drugs, on probation, about to go to jail.... send the kid to Military School immediately and let them beat some sense into him. Do not delay!

[Anonymous]

Will he accept a psychological evaluation, one that can diagnose possible ADHD or other disorders? I recommend Stixrud, it's expensive (out of pocket) but they are highly trained and professional.

Very often, people self-medicate undiagnosed mental health issues. ADHD is rare in the general population, and prevalent in the prison population. That should tell you all you need to know.

Then if he's not willing to take meds regularly and go to therapy or coaching, you can try shipping him off to military school (with his meds).

[Anonymous]

NP. I was just reading the responses here. What does a military school do for this child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I was just reading the responses here. What does a military school do for this child?

Nothing. He needs a drug treatment facility. Anytime a kid isn't behaving well or has drug issues military school is the off the cuff response.

[Anonymous]

If you are looking for a more intense school program you could check out RICA. The school should be offering you some help here since he's not going.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the general sense here that if the underlying issue is self-medicating mental health issues, which often pop up around this age, then military school would be the worst possible option.

If however, after a sober, psychological evaluation there is no underlying mental health condition, check out of rehab and into military school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with the general sense here that if the underlying issue is self-medicating mental health issues, which often pop up around this age, then military school would be the worst possible option.

If however, after a sober, psychological evaluation there is no underlying mental health condition, check out of rehab and into military school.

What's your experience with military school? I'm just curious whether most people who recommend military school have personal knowledge because they or family members have attended them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, do not wait. My friend had this situation and she tried wilderness program, boarding school....she wasted tens of thousands of dollars and now the kid is a high school drop out, still taking advantage of her, crashing with friends, doing drugs, on probation, about to go to jail.... send the kid to Military School immediately and let them beat some sense into him. Do not delay!

We had a neighborhood kid who went to military school for this kind of stuff at the same age as OPs kid.

Last time I saw him he was polite, engaged focused, doing well in his next (not military) school, and making college plans.

Those 2 years of military school changed his life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Will he accept a psychological evaluation, one that can diagnose possible ADHD or other disorders? I recommend Stixrud, it's expensive (out of pocket) but they are highly trained and professional.

Very often, people self-medicate undiagnosed mental health issues. ADHD is rare in the general population, and prevalent in the prison population. That should tell you all you need to know.

Then if he's not willing to take meds regularly and go to therapy or coaching, you can try shipping him off to military school (with his meds).

I second the psychological testing. Start with this and see what recommendations come out of

[Anonymous]

This was recommended to me but we went in a different direction. Newport Academy (used to be called Northstar) in Rockville.

https://www.newportacademy.com/locations/outpatient/

[Anonymous]

What direction did you go in?

[Anonymous]

OP here. He's not going to military school. For right now I'm looking into something close to home, probably intensive out-patient. If that doesn't work, may look into residential options. He has a therapist and has had a psycho-educational eval (we're awaiting results), so we do have some support, but I'm looking into options.