Teens Love Their Parents and God

I'm planning a car trip with two of my teens from our home near Kansas City to Des Moines. After visiting a college campus for my high school senior I will cheer at a soccer tournament for my high school freshman.

So I'm encouraged by a poll on what makes teens happy. Their top answer was spending time with their family. Three quarters of the teens said that their relationship with their parents makes them happy.

The Associated Press and MTV polled 1,280 people aged 13 to 24 to find out what makes young people happy.

Religion also helps teens find happiness. Eighty percent of those who call religion or spirituality the most important thing in their lives say they're happy, while only 60 percent of those who say faith isn't important to them consider themselves happy.

Forty-four percent say religion and spirituality is at least very important to them, 21 percent responded it is somewhat important, 20 percent say it plays a small part in their lives and 14 percent say it doesn't play any role.

These teens combine their spirituality with tolerance. Sixty-eight percent agree with the statement, ``I follow my own religious and spiritual beliefs, but I think that other religious beliefs could be true as well.'' Thirty-one percent choose, ``I strongly believe that my religious beliefs are true and universal, and that other religious beliefs are not right.''

I was already looking forward to a weekend car trip with my kids. Now this poll supports my choice of how I spend my time.

Meth Use Begins Before Age 15

Most teens who try methamphetamine say they started when they were age 15 or younger. Nearly a quarter of teens say that it would be "very easy" or "somewhat easy" to obtain meth. One in three teens believes there is only a "slight risk" or "no risk" in trying meth once or twice.

These national results were published yesterday by the Meth Project, a nonprofit organization based in California. They received wide coverage in national news outlets yesterday and today.

However, even our local press failed to research usage statistics in our own community. Had they bothered to look, they would have found that the Kansas Methamphetamine Prevention Project reports meth use has declined slightly in recent years among 12th graders in Kansas. In 1999, 7.7 percent of Kansas 12th graders reported some use of meth in their lifetime. By 2006, that number dropped to 5.3 percent.

Bipolar Label Increases 40 Times

The number of children and youth labeled as bipolar increased 40 times from 1994 to 2003. The frequency of the diagnosis has increased even further since then.

The numbers come from a study just published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Many believe the jump comes from more aggressive diagnosis. Because of the size of the increase, some question the validity of the diagnosis.

Bipolar teens and children experience massive mood swings. During their manic stages, they may feel surges of energy and confidence. They might make grandiose plans that never come to fruition. They might also make impulsive decisions that violate the law.

These manic stages are soon followed by debilitating depression. They fail school. They might self medicate using alcohol and illegal drugs. As in their manic stages, they may make poor choices which lead to trouble with the law.

Families with bipolar children often retain my firm for representation in juvenile justice proceedings and special education. These families often find that the juvenile justice system offers little help. In many cases, inappropriate responses from juvenile justice might actually obstruct the family's efforts.

Punishing teens for bipolar behavior won't cure their disorder. Fortunately, a combination of medical intervention with mental health therapy can help these children become productive.

However, the pace of the medical and legal interventions might contradict each other. The juvenile court demands immediate compliance with its orders and conditions of probation. Meanwhile, the psychiatrist might need time to experiment with different combinations of drugs. Some of the medicines might need several weeks to take effect. Concurrently, your family needs training and community resources. Your child may require talk therapy over several months.

At the same time, the school system should evaluate your child for eligibility for special education and related services. If the bipolar mood disorder interferes with school, your child might need an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to receive a free, appropriate public education.

Our firm helps families with bipolar children in all these systems. We ensure that the juvenile justice system coordinates with the mental health system to keep your child safe and compliant. We advocate for the school to provide an appropriate education so your child can succeed and stay out of trouble. We refer your family to public and private resources to learn how to manage your child's behavior while interacting with larger social systems.

You can get more done for less effort by acting before disaster strikes. If your child may be experiencing symptoms of bipolar mood disorder, seek early professional help.

Danny's IEP

A client sent this video to me. My client's son is autistic. The school district wants to move him away from his home school, where he attends with his twin sister. Instead, the district wants to educate him in a more restrictive setting in a distant school. We filed a special education due process request to keep him in the least restrictive environment.

In this video, a family in Maryland compellingly communicates to their son's IEP team how their son's autism affects his learning. They emphasize that their son can and does learn. He just learns differently than other children without autism.

The video provides an excellent primer on autism and special learning tools such as ABA. The video lasts about 9 minutes and 14 seconds.