Hi, Scott Gallagher here...

I've just written an article called "Do you know the Top 12 Teen Addictions?" based on my work in schools across the U.S. and Canada.

It provides some fascinating insights into the multitude of issues students are wrestling with, and the work I'm doing to help kids recover. I've provided a copy below. I hope you find it useful.

If you are NOT the person who deals with addictions/bullying speakers and education at your school, could you help by putting me in touch with:

1) your school counsellor/guidance staff, or
2) the person who books speakers for your school...?
I'd truly appreciate it.

Thank you for time and help. And I hope your school year ahead is a great one!

Best regards,

Scott Gallagher

416-424-1200
___________________
Do you know the Top 12 Teen Addictions that kids want help with?

  1.   Junk Food
  2.   Internet/Computer Use
  3.   Marijuana and/or Hash
  4.   Alcohol
  5.   Tobacco
  6.   Sugar/Candy
  7.   Over Eating
  8.   Under Eating or Anorexia
  9.   Self-Harm (primarily cutting or wrist slashing)
10.   S-e-x
11.   Bullying or abusing others
12.   Video Games

How do I know this? Because I asked.

I've spoken to thousands of students across the U.S. and Canada about addictions. After doing general assemblies, I then gave workshops for those who were suffering from compulsive and addictive behaviours. Each child participant was asked this question: "What habits(s) do you most want to stop or reduce in your life right now?" The answers were startling.

From a sampling of 17 of the schools I visited, 265 students (Grades 7 to 12) voluntarily attended my Healthy Habits workshop and 28-day programs. On forms filled out anonymously, they listed 92 different destructive habits with which they were struggling, for a total of 1031 times! This means that each child had an average of four habits from which they wanted FREEDOM.
The 12 most common addictive habits are listed above. The other 80 are equally shocking and are listed at www.92teenaddictions.com


Who Are These Kids – and Where Do They Come From?
1031 bad habits and addictions for 265 kids seems incredible. But it's true. Yet there was nothing unusual about the type of schools or communities these kids came from. Ten schools were Public/Secular, 5 were Catholic, 1 was Alternative/At-Risk and 1 was First Nations. The communities they lived in ranged from low-to-high on the economic scale.

These weren’t your typical “at-risk” students, referred by school officials, guidance counselors or parents. They first attended my General School Assembly talks I gave on addictions, then chose to come forward to receive help. They recognized these habits and compulsions as being detrimental to their lives and health, and came because they’d been unable to deal with them on their own. And for school staff, it was an eye opener. Many had been unaware of how many students were suffering in silence, and were stunned to hear of the multitude of addictive behaviors.

The students who came forward did so despite being warned of the strenuous commitment required in the workshop, and the 28-day Healthy Habits program that followed. They understood that their success would be contingent on partnering with an "Accountability Buddy," as well as weekly sharing in a community of kids with similar problems.


How do we reach these Kids?
In many schools, these kids are the ones we've given up on – the underachievers, the troublemakers, the bullies, loners, smokers, drinkers and "druggies." We treat them like they are bad and wrong, a problem we'd rather be rid of – which gives them even more evidence that the negative self image they've already created for themselves (in response to significant events that happened in their past) IS TRUE.

When I speak with students, I share my own life of addiction & recovery and I talk about the pain that was at the root of my addictions. This pain is something students can connect with. For me, I remember my feelings of shame as far back as grade two. We were asked to go to the front of the room and talk about our parents.  As I heard other kids talk about their Moms and Dads, I compared myself to them. I reflected that my Dad didn't live with us, and he never came to visit. My Mom was a receptionist who never finished high school, and we lived in a government-subsidized apartment building.

From this simple experience, I made up the false belief that I was inferior to other people, a loser, broken and inadequate. It wasn't "the truth" – but it became "my truth" because I made it so. And as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "We shape our lives and we shape ourselves. Ultimately, the choices we make are our own responsibility."
In an attempt to compensate for the unconscious choice I had made to be inferior, I became addicted to being superior to other people. I studied obsessively like a workaholic to get better grades than other kids. I played sports only to win because, if I won, others would lose and that would make me feel superior. I chose friends who were younger or weaker than me so I could bully them around. But this way of living life was unsatisfying and took too much work, so I eventually got high, engaged in a multitude of other destructive habits, and even thought of suicide as a quick and easy way to escape.

As a speaker now, I am fully aware that trying to scare students out of experimenting with dangerous or illegal activities is not the most effective approach. In fact, one of my partners, Dr. Gabor Maté, says this in his latest book In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction:

"When it comes to drug education, most governments appear to view prevention largely as a matter of informing people, especially young people, that drugs are bad for them. A worthy objective, certainly, but like all behavioural programs, this form of prevention is highly unlikely to make a significant impact. The reason is that the children who are at greatest risk are the least open to hearing the message...

Children who have been abused… or are for any other reason alienated from adults, do not look to grownups for advice, modelling or information. And yet… these are the children most prone to substance use. We have witnessed the same problem with attempts to prevent or eliminate bullying: the dynamics of bullying or victim-hood are rooted deep in a wounded child’s psyche. This is why moral preaching and plethora of anti-bullying programs have little or no impact…. Programs aimed at changing or preventing behaviours always fail if they do not address the psychological dynamics that drive the behaviours in question."
That's why I use my personal story of addiction in a different way – to connect my own challenges, pain and choices with theirs, so as to inspire those in severe pain to attend my healthy habits workshop and 28-day program.

Dr. Maté also says this:
If schools… are to engage in drug education with a view to prevention, they need first to create an emotionally supportive relationship between teachers and students in which the latter feel understood, accepted and respected. Only in such an atmosphere…will young people develop enough trust to turn to adults with their problems and concerns. …[O]nly healthy, nurturing relationships with adults will prevent kids from becoming lost in their peer world – a loss of orientation that leads rapidly to drug use."
For those many young people who may, in reality, never have such nurturing relationships with adults, one of my intentions is to give them a new and empowering way of looking at the world and their lives.

How Much "Choice" Do We Really Have?
The world taught me to see myself as a victim at an early age. That belief gripped me during my years of being addicted – and is one I still hang onto at times today. Yet my own sustained recovery (since Nov. 4th, 1999) has depended on changing this belief about who I am, and my interpretation or "story" of what happened "to me" earlier in my life.

What I've recognized and teach kids in my workshops is that being a victim is a choice. Yes, we may have been "victimized" and experienced bad things in our lives. But how we look at those events now is up to us.
Many of us have heard about the movie and book, The Secret. It is based on the concept that we create and are "the cause" of everything in our life. Some argue that this idea is too extreme, but whether it is the "whole truth" is not the point. What IS important is whether our current view of life is empowering.
"While pointing the blame at others (playing the victim) may feel better than assuming responsibility for unwanted conditions, there is a very big negative repercussion to believing that something outside of you is the reason for your own lack of success: When you give the credit or the blame to another for your success or lack of it - you are powerless to make any change." Esther and Jerry Hicks, Authors of The Law of Attraction.

As an addict who saw himself as a total victim (and I had the experiences to prove it), the idea of being "cause in the matter of my life" didn't really seem to apply to me. However this began to change as I investigated the works of people like Stephen Covey (author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People), Richard Bandler (founder of Neuro Linguistic Programming), Tony Robbins, Wayne Dwyer, Bob Proctor, Neale Donald Walsch (the Conversations with God series) and many others, and took courses from companies like Landmark Education. Their insights helped me see the full extent to which I was playing the victim, and how I was letting my disempowering interpretations of what had happened to me in the past destroy my future.


Applying this in our Schools
As a teenager, my choices led me to become and stay addicted. By transforming what was behind my addictions (which, for me, did include working a 12 step program) and becoming responsible for the decisions I had made, I am now able to live free of not just one addiction – but numerous addictions, rather than as a victim of my past.

What I want students to know is that they have this same choice. My workshops help kids shift their attention and energy away from the seemingly hopeless nature of their "bad habits," and redirect it towards developing healthy habits. We focus on their power to choose, to support others, and be supported by a community and buddy system, while reducing their bad habits until they get to abstinence (if that is what they choose).

I believe this message encourages and enables young people to make far more change than any threats or negative statistics could ever do. And the results are proving very positive. [For more on this, see the case studies and testimonies on my website by clicking here]

What Kids are Dealing with: The Full List
As mentioned earlier, the full list of habits, addictions and behaviours (and the number of times each was reported) are listed on my website by clicking this link www.92teenaddictions.com
Only 13 of these behaviors were listed on the original form. The other 79 were written in by students themselves as being problems with which they wanted help. Yet even these numbers do not tell the whole story. For example:

a) In #11 - Bullying, 38 kids came to the workshop for help with bullying behaviours they were unable to stop. However elsewhere in the survey, 93 kids admitted to bullying others, while 58 students said that being bullied was a problem for them.

b) The number of students who experience addictive and compulsive habits is clearly much higher than those who attended the workshops. Many kids who were known in their school to be "at-risk" or have specific problems did not attend.

Final Words…
It took tremendous courage for kids with such behaviors to attend these workshops. But it is also a sign of how much they want help – and of the potential for change in our schools. Why? Because their choices will affect others. The more we can help them overcome their addictions, the more other students will see their success and come forward for solutions to their own problems. And this in turn will grow…

I believe it is up to us, as adults, to teach kids to take responsibility for the choices that affect their lives, and to offer them practical steps that will give them positive results. And the best way to teach that is to do it for ourselves. As Gandhi said, "be the change you want to see in the world."

- - - - - - -
Scott Gallagher is a keynote addictions speaker and workshop facilitator. For more information, visit www.AddictionFreeYouth.com or call 416-424-1200

Update from the Office for Exceptional Children

Whose IDEA Is This?

Whose IDEA Is This? was updated today to correct several errors.  The changes are on pages 3, 10 and the Due Process Complaint and Request for a Due Process Form.  The most current version is posted to the ODE Web site, keyword “Whose IDEA Is This?.”  We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Registration Open for 2nd Annual Special Education Leadership Conference September 24-25, 2008

The Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children (OEC) is hosting the 2nd annual Special Education Leadership Conference on September 24-25, 2008 at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Columbus http://www.aladdinshrine.org/. 

This event is designed to provide special education directors in public schools and community schools, as well as other leaders in Ohio’s special education system, the opportunity to learn of changes in Ohio’s special education policies and programs, including the revised Operating Standards and OEC monitoring plan, and to meet our new director, Kathe Shelby!

For details (including the registration form, agenda and hotel information) visit the ODE Web site, keyword search “Special Education Leadership Conference.”  Registration deadline is September 12, 2008.

Please find below the hyperlink to US Department of Education’s annual notice to the LEA of its responsibilities under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).  We hope that you will find this information helpful in protecting parents' and students' privacy rights under FERPA and PPRA.
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/doc/pprasuper.doc
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/doc/ferparights.doc
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/doc/ppraconsent.doc
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/doc/ppranotice.doc
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/doc/directoryinfo.doc

Also note that the U.S. Department of Education is in the process of amending the FERPA regulations to clarify issues of concern to many in the education community.  As we advised you by email dated March 25, 2008, we published a Notice of Proposed Rule-making that discusses the proposed changes, which is available on our web site at  http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/proprule/2008-1/032408a.html.  We anticipate that the final regulations will be published in the Federal Register in December and will advise you once the changes to FERPA are finalized.  

In addition, please note the School Safety and FERPA link on our web site at   http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/safeschools/.  Understanding the law empowers school officials to act quickly and decisively when problems arise.  The information contained at this link will hopefully provide you with some helpful information as you strive to keep schools in your State safe.

We encourage you to share this information by having it electronically available to staff. 

Sincerely,

Dear Friend of JSFG,

Attached is the current JSFG job seeker profile listing. The Job Search Focus Group provides support for professionals seeking new opportunities. The profile listing is a free resource to employers seeking experienced, qualified employees.

To request contact with a JSFG member listed in these profiles, please fill out the form at http://www.jsfg.com/profiles.htm. You can also email jsfg@jsfg.com with your information and the profile ID, or simply call the JSFG office at (513) 871-0320.

If you have any suggestions or questions, or wish to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the monthly JSFG profile listing, please contact profileschair@jsfg.com.


Thank you for your support of JSFG.

Dave Mallon
JSFG Profiles Chair

Office for Exceptional Children

Operating Standards and Whose IDEA Is This?

The 2008 Operating Standards, titled Operating Standards for Educational Agencies Serving Children with Disabilities, is now available on the ODE Web site, keyword search “Operating Standards Disabilities.”  Also, the 2008 version of Whose IDEA Is This? is available on our Web site, keyword search “Whose IDEA Is This.”

Both of these documents are being burnt to CDs and one CD per building will be distributed to educational agencies in September.  Also included on this CD will be the Operating Standards for Identifying and Serving Gifted Students and Gifted Operating Standards Technical Assistance Manual.  Hard copies of these documents will not be distributed.

Brain Injury Association of Ohio Annual Conference

NOTICE:  Special Education Administrators, School Psychologists, Teachers and Related Service Personnel

THE PROBLEM:
Each year 1800 children in Ohio are hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These are hospitalizations of 48 hours or more and represent the most severe cases.  Based on this data, there are 18,778 students currently being educated in Ohio schools with a TBI.

Do you and your staff know how to address the wide-ranging needs of this population? Do you know how to improve your screening for TBI?

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Ohio’s nationally known TBI experts will be presenting a child and student-focused TBI Educator Track at the Brain Injury Association of Ohio Annual Conference September 18 and 19 in Columbus, Ohio. OCALI will be providing Professional Development Contact Hours for all educators who attend. 

Sessions include:

• Positive Behavior Supports—What’s Right with This Picture? (Keynote)
• Response to Intervention (RTI) and Students with Brain Injury—Gale Kingsley
• Translating Neuropsychological Evaluations for Educational Service Plans—Susan Gfoerer and T. Shawn Sullivan
• Outcomes for Children with TBI: Fostering Recovery at School and Home—Gerry Taylor and Shari Wade
• Integrating and Working with Students in the School Setting—Dea Jones
• Ohio Legal Rights and Columbus City TB I Screening Project—Sara Tims and Kristin Hildebrant
• School and Vocation Transition Planning—Marci Mendelson and Sharon Ramey
• ImPACT: Developing a State-wide Sports Concussion Management Program—T. Shawn Sullivan and Ron Savage ( A two session series, tell your coaches and athletic directors)
• Ohio Legal Rights and Columbus City TB I Screening Project—Sara Tims and Kristin Hildebrant

Go To: http://www.biaoh.org/newsconference.html  for more information.

Registration Open for 2nd Annual Special Education Leadership Conference September 24-25, 2008

The Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children (OEC) is hosting the 2nd annual Special Education Leadership Conference on September 24-25, 2008 at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Columbus http://www.aladdinshrine.org/. 

This event is designed to provide special education directors in public schools and community schools, as well as other leaders in Ohio’s special education system, the opportunity to learn of changes in Ohio’s special education policies and programs, including the revised Operating Standards and OEC monitoring plan, and to meet our new director, Kathe Shelby!

For details (including the registration form, agenda and hotel information) visit the ODE Web site, keyword search “Special Education Leadership Conference.”  Registration deadline is September 12, 2008.

Dear Community School Administrators and Sponsors:

The Department has corrected the issue related to Value-Added data in the SDC “Indicator and Rating” report. The data now shows adjustments made to final state ratings resulting from Value-Added data.

Thank you,

Karlyn Geis

Dear Community School Administrators and Sponsors:
The Department has identified an issue with the loading of the Value-Added data in the SDC “Indicator and Rating” report. Specifically, the data for approximately 14 community schools does not show the adjustment to those schools’ final state ratings resulting from Value-Added data. The Department is currently working to fix the issue.
Thank you,
Karlyn Geis

Quantum Learning Education “Kick Off the School Year” special price offer for expert Classroom Observation and Coaching!
Improve content delivery and reinforce exceptional teaching!

Take advantage of this excellent opportunity!

8 – 10 teachers can be observed in a single day with one-on-one time given, as time allows, for feedback and expert recommendations on their instructional methods and how to make them more engaging, boost content comprehension, and promote greater retention of what was taught. A short follow up training is offered at the end of the school day for the teachers who were observed that day with additional tips and best practices from the Quantum Learning training and research.

The standard fee for each Classroom Observation and Coaching Day is $2750 plus travel and related expenses, if the instructor comes in from out of state. The fee for September and October is $2600 for the day (plus necessary travel and related expenses). A savings of $150!

For three or more days consecutively, the fee is $2550 per day! A savings of $200 per day!

Classroom Observation and Coaching Days DO NOT INTERRUPT CLASSES, so it is not necessary for teachers to be out of the classroom. This provides exceptional opportunities for training without waiting on possible staff development or in-service days.

When two or more days are utilized while the QL instructor is at your school, you can realize a savings on travel costs.

Follow up Walk Through and Classroom Observation Forms will be provided all principals following the QL Classroom and Observation Coaching Days so that future observations reinforce and support teachers to continue to practice new skills.

Schedule your Classroom Observation and Coaching Days for September or October right away and get your dates first!

QL In the News… See short video link from Williamson County Schools and Tennessean article below.

QUANTUM LEARNING in Williamson County

See 2 minute video clip below.

 <http://video.wcs.edu/quantum_learning_6-26-08>  (video included) Watch as Williamson County, TN teachers practice new and exciting ways to engage students.

Office for Exceptional Children

Medicaid School Program (MSP)

The Medicaid School Program (MSP) still has not been approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); however, work on MSP continues. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) very recently sent school stakeholders a revised draft of the MSP implementing administrative rules. The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) continues to work on developing a cost report and instructions consolidating MSP professional services, case management and Medicaid administrative claiming. ODE is working to conclude a contract with The Ohio State University, Office of Health Sciences to implement a Random Moment Time Study process for MSP using the University of Massachusetts Center for Health Finance staff. ODE is working with ODJFS to put out a planning document in August that would provide schools with basic information on MSP and advise them on what steps they can take prior to the federal approval being received.  Once the trainings have been finalized, training information, dates and times will be publicized.  Questions regarding the proposed school Medicaid program may be e-mail to schoolmedicaid@ode.state.oh.us.

Operating Standards and Whose IDEA Is This?

The 2008 Operating Standards, titled Operating Standards for Educational Agencies Serving Children with Disabilities, is now available on the ODE Web site, keyword search “Operating Standards Disabilities.”  Also, the 2008 version of Whose IDEA Is This? will be available on our Web site by close of business tomorrow, August 13, 2008.

Both of these documents are being burnt to CDs and one copy per building will be distributed to educational agencies in approximately two weeks.  Also included on this CD will be the Operating Standards for Identifying and Serving Gifted Students and Gifted Operating Standards Technical Assistance Manual.

Registration Open for 2nd Annual Special Education Leadership Conference September 24-25, 2008

The Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children (OEC) is hosting the 2nd annual Special Education Leadership Conference on September 24-25, 2008 at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Columbus http://www.aladdinshrine.org/. 

This event is designed to provide special education directors in public schools and community schools, as well as other leaders in Ohio’s special education system, the opportunity to learn of changes in Ohio’s special education policies and programs, including the revised Operating Standards and OEC monitoring plan, and to meet our new director, Kathe Shelby!

Registration Information

Registration deadline is September 12, 2008.

Registration Form (see attached): Please complete the form by typing directly on the downloaded PDF form before printing it.

Payment: Checks only. No purchase orders will be accepted. Payment must accompany registration form.

Conference Fee: $45

Make check payable to:    Treasurer, State of Ohio

Mail check with completed registration form to:
    
Office for Exceptional Children
Special Education Conference
Mail Stop 203
25 South Front Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215-4183

Checks received without a registration form or past the deadline will be returned.

Conference registration is limited to 1500. We are requesting that each district/agency send only their key leadership person responsible for LEA special education compliance so that each district/agency will have an opportunity to attend. The information presented at the conference will be posted on the ODE website after the conference.

Breakout Session Selections: All sessions will be filled on a first-registered, first-served basis. Seating is limited. Room capacities are included on the session grid. An early submission of the registration form with payment will help to secure your preferred choices. If you do not indicate a session choice, you will not be assigned a session for that time period. Your assigned session numbers will be indicated on your registration confirmation and conference name badge.

During the conference there will be information displays and networking areas available in the lobby.

Below are the breakout sessions.  Please be sure to put your session choice on your registration form.

Confirmation of Registration: Confirmation, including session selections, menu choices and a receipt for payment, will be sent by email when registration is processed.

Cancellations/Changes: Should it be necessary to cancel a registration, a request for refund must be made in writing to the address listed above by mail or faxed to Ronda Hinson at (614) 752-1429 by September 12, 2008. Refunds for cancellations received by the deadline will not be processed for payment prior to December 2008.

Substitutions in names must be made in writing by September 12, 2008.

Menu Choices: Please indicate on the registration form your entrée choice for lunch each day. If you prefer to attend the conference without meals, please indicate that on your registration form. The full conference fee will still be charged. Your menu selection will be indicated on your registration confirmation and name badge.

Special Accommodations: Please specify on the registration form any need for special assistance or accommodations.

Directions & Parking: Directions are available on the Aladdin Shrine Center’s website at http://www.aladdinshrine.org/ . Free parking is available on site for the first 650 cars. Additional free parking is available across the street at the career school or a few blocks farther at Easton Town Center www.EastonTownCenter.com near the Hilton Columbus hotel. Please plan your arrival time accordingly.

Hotels: Several hotels in the area have offered group rates for a limited number of rooms to our conference attendees. Many of the area hotels do provide shuttle service to the Easton Town Center. For a list of hotels within seven miles of the conference please see the attached document.

The Experience Columbus website has information about the Columbus area and allows you to search for additional hotel locations. http://www.experiencecolumbus.com/main.cfm?nav=t

Direct questions about the conference to: Ronda Hinson at Ronda.Hinson@ode.state.oh.us.

Dear Friend of JSFG,

Attached is the current JSFG job seeker profile listing. The Job Search Focus Group provides support for professionals seeking new opportunities. The profile listing is a free resource to employers seeking experienced, qualified employees.

To request contact with a JSFG member listed in these profiles, please fill out the form at http://www.jsfg.com/profiles.htm. You can also email jsfg@jsfg.com with your information and the profile ID, or simply call the JSFG office at (513) 871-0320.

If you have any suggestions or questions, or wish to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the monthly JSFG profile listing, please contact profileschair@jsfg.com.


Thank you for your support of JSFG.

Dave Mallon
JSFG Profiles Chair