Why do parents of ADHD teens don a glazed, semi-sarcastic gaze when someone tells them, "I think I can help your child?" It's very likely because the parents have already struggled through years of conflict, meetings with teachers and counselors, attempts at drug intervention, etc., and have not seen any lasting "cure" for their child's ills. Many of these parents have long ago moved past the quitting stage, and are now simply warriors. They're accustomed to the battle. It's what they do.

Working in the troubled teen industry affords an interesting look, not only at those who seek help, but at those who are the providers of assistance. Those seeking solutions for their ADHD teens are often baffled at the apparent ineffectiveness of schools, doctors, and others, who have previously sought to assist them.

Parents of ADHD children all-too-often watch their first-graders struggle with teachers, peers, and academics, as they grow into second-graders - then third, fourth, etc., without a solution for the disorder. It's like watching a slow-motion disaster, knowing there must be an answer, but never being able to find it. Years after a solution "should have been made," parents are at a loss as to how to help their "pre-adult" adolescent children.

Many opt for therapeutic boarding schools for troubled teens. These take the form of residential treatment centers, wilderness therapy programs, etc. However, many of these programs are not the right fit, or are simply substandard therapeutically, academically, or both.

Nonetheless, there are some extremely effective schools and programs for teens who struggle with ADHD. These schools provide both supervision and support, and encourage the learning process in ways most public schools are unable to do. This is what these schools do. It's their specialty. And in most cases, provided the teen has been placed in a good program, progress is made.

When parents feel that there is no hope, or that they've exhausted all other resources, that is precisely when they should seek qualified help from others "outside" the home, and "outside" the environment in which both the parent and the teen have become frustrated. A good therapeutic boarding school represents a new start, with new people, with specialized training and resources that can provide unexpected relief and value to the hearts, minds, and lives of both teens and their parents.

(by Michael Behning)