Tuesday Talks with Tori: 4 Questions with Richard Wong

Hi there, this is Tori Wong, and to kick off my “Tuesday Talks with Tori” I spent 10 minutes with the Executive Director of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and ACE Board member, Dr. Richard Wong (no relation). Just kidding, Dr. Wong is not only the hard working Executive Director of a growing organization, he is also my father. Today, he agreed to talk to us about what school counselors are doing to combat the growing epidemic of inhalant abuse in schools across the country and why it’s important.

Tori Wong (TW): As the Executive Director of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), what do you see as the major problem with inhalant abuse?
Richard Wong (RW): Of course, the primary problem with inhalant abuse is that it exists at all. It's unfortunate that young people need to take common products that are a part of our everyday lives and use them in ways that could kill them with just one incidence of abuse. Beyond that, the major problem is a lack of understanding and awareness by the general public. If more adults knew how dangerous and accessible inhalant abuse is, and then took action, the problem wouldn't be as serious. The lack of understanding leads to a reluctance to discuss the problem or a denial that a problem exists, both of which make the problem worse.

TW: How do you think school counselors are working to solve that lack of awareness in their own schools?

RW: Through a collaboration between ASCA and ACE, school counselors across the country have used the inhalant abuse kits and other materials developed by ACE to educate their students about the dangers of inhalant abuse and to educate parents about effective ways to talk with their children, to spot warning signs that their children may be abusing inhalants or other substances, and to use products prudently to limit their children's access to products that potentially could be abused

TW: We all know there are many issues for parents, teachers, and counselors to deal with, why do you feel that more parents should educate themselves and their children about the dangers of inhalants?

RW: The fact is that inhalant abuse could potentially by more dangerous than illegal drugs or prescription medicine abuse. One incidence of abuse could result in permanent brain-damage or even death. At the same time, inhalants are more accessible than marijuana, cocaine or other illegal substances and even more accessible than alcohol. Products that are susceptible to inhalant abuse are part of our lives; it would be very difficult to get along with out them, so parents can't simply ban them from their house or stop using them. Therefore, they should educate themselves and their children about the proper ways to use and store the products and the dangers of abusing them.

TW: What can parents do to protect their children from the dangers of inhalant abuse?
RW: The reality is that we can't always protect them, so we need to help them protect themselves. Parents need to talk with their children about all risky behaviors. Of course, adolescent brains aren't fully developed and adolescents don't always use the best judgment, so parents should monitor their children's activities and take action when they have even the smallest suspicion. Some parents are hesitant to do anything because they fear they might anger their children and alienate them. Parents need to remember that they're the grown-ups in the family and it's their responsibility to make sure that their children become responsible grown-ups also. ACE provides excellent materials to help parents talk to their children and monitor them without being too constrictive. Their school counselors are an excellent resource as well.

Man Uses Inhalants with Two 13 year Old Girls

According to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader in South Dakota, a 22 year old man has been charged with providing alcohol to and using an inhalant with two 13 year old girls.

On Jun 19^th, the “the trio ingested air from a can used to dust off keyboards.” One of the girls “was taken to a Sioux Falls hospital and was still there earlier this week.”

New Mississippi Drug Study

From WLBT-TV Jackson, MS

A 2007 survey found more than 4% of Mississippi students in grades sixth through eleventh used inhalants in a 90-day period. Still alcohol and marijuana are most commonly abused.

Police from Madison, Mississippi have been noticing an alarming increase in alolesent drug use. “Police chief Gene Waldrop won't call it an epidemic but a display case in the department's front hall filled with confiscated drug paraphernalia proves it does exist.”

Teen Suffocates In Huffing Incident

According to the Evansville Courier Press, July 7, 2008, a 17-year-old Indiana girl has died from huffing butane.

On Thursday, July 3rd, sheriff deputies received a report that Karissa Krohn had fallen unconscious after having inhaled butane from a container used to refill cigarette lighters. Krohn was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Krohn’s friends were interviewed and said she had huffed the chemical once before but it had not negatively affected her.

Sheriff Marvin Heilman said he has heard of no other instances of butane abuse in Warrick County. “The victim’s actions obviously brought a horrible tragedy to her family and friends,” he said. “Karissa, by all accounts, was a hardworking, well-adjusted, normal teenager who was willing to experiment with an unknown risk with no fear of consequences and she died.”

Mother Arrested After Huffing With Teen

From KXnet.com, July 7th, 2008

A 25 year old North Dakota woman is in jail for child abuse, among other charges.Police were called to a neighborhood park on the evening of July 3rd after someone reported seeing two infants wandering around alone. The boys were ages one and three and their mother was found in a nearby car huffing dusters with a 15 year old girl. The woman was arrested for child abuse and neglect, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and inhalation of vapors. Police later found 24 cans of air duster in the car.

She started Huffing at the Age of 9

In a follow-up piece to the Vermillion piece earlier this month, KELOLAND TV in South Dakota interviews a mother who started using inhalants at age 9.

“Deanna, who only wants us to use her first name, is very open about her early addiction with huffing. She started at age 9. Mainly because of peer pressure.” "Gasoline, lighter fluid, rubber cement, nail polish," said Deanna. Deanna says huffing those chemicals would cause her to hallucinate. "Like you were in a video game, sometimes I passed out a couple of times," said Deanna. "Nobody was there to tell me how to say no."

The counselor who is helping treat Deanna notes: "I think probably 8 out 10 clients have had an experience or at least tried huffing one time or another in their life,"

Former Soldier Killed by Inhalants

The FayObserver in Fayetteville, NC reports that a combination of prescription pills and computer cleaner recently took the life of Joseph Patrick Dwyer.

31 year old Dwyer was a “former Army medic who became famous after he was photographed helping a wounded Iraqi boy.”

Three years ago, in an interview with Newsday, “Dwyer and his friends admitted that Dwyer abused inhalants.”

Capt. Floyd Thomas of the Pinehurst Police Department states that “bottles of pills and a canister of computer cleaner were found near Dwyer when police entered his home this past Saturday.”

“Dwyer had called transportation on Saturday night to take him to the hospital after an apparent overdose. When the cab driver arrived, Dwyer was lying on the floor. Dwyer told the driver he could not get to the door, according to the police report.The driver called police, who kicked in the door of the Longleaf Drive home at Dwyer’s request.”

“Help me, please,” Dwyer told police through his front door. “I’m dying. Help me. I can’t breathe.”

After being loaded into an ambulance, medics performed CPR, according to the police report. He was pronounced dead at 7:48 p.m.

Inhalant Abuse on the Rise in India

According to the Calcutta Telegraph, inhalant abuse amongst teens in India is on the rise.

“S. Haque Nizamie, the director of the Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP), said the use of inhalants among children is increasing at an alarming rate.” The director added, “cases of inhalants are increasing day by day” and children are mostly using inhalants while in school, without parents or teachers even realizing it.

The article points out that most of the children are “between the age group of 13 and 16 years” and “this month around 15 cases of substance use and inhalants were received at the child psychiatry ward of the CIP.”

Products used include: petrol, diesel, kerosene, whitener, fevicol, cough syrups and brown sugar.

Change to student handbook in Pennsylvania:

From the Clearfield Progress in Pennsylvania:

The revised Glendale School District student handbook was officially approved by the school board last Monday---one of the new addictions concerns inhalants.

“Another major addition is under the drug and alcohol policy. The district has added whiteout to the list of inhalants. That category also includes gasses, solvents, butane, propane and adhesives.”

Drug Education Forum

Thank you to Drug Education Forum for highlighting our program in a recent post.

In the posting they profiled our Inhalant Abuse Prevention Kit, which will allow so many more parents and communities to become aware of this free preventative resource. They also provided a link to the electronic downloadable version of the Kit, which has already led to a high number of downloads since their post was made active.

According to their site, the “Drug Education Forum is the umbrella body for national organisations committed to improving drug education in England.”

Inhalant Death in Pennsylvania

From WTAJ in Altoona, Pennsylvania

A 34 year old man died early Saturday morning after inhaling “dusters.”

The article notes, “Dusters is a chemical used to clean computer keyboards. Police officers say huffing is a larger problem than people realize because of the easy access to household items used for sniffing."

Inhalant Abuse Prevention in Other Regions

From Drug Education News, something we'll be closely keeping an eye on:

"The Australian government has published a review of interventions that have been aimed at Volatile Substance Abuse. Here’s what their executive summary says about education interventions:

Australian educational authorities continue to pursue a policy of not providing education about VSM [Volatile Substance Misuse] under school-based drug education programs, on the grounds that such education may inadvertently encourage experimentation with inhalants.

Some information about volatile substances is provided through occupational health and safety training. In England and Wales, by contrast, schools are required to include information about solvents in drug education programs. The UK Government is currently funding a five-year follow up study of the impact of school-based drug education on subsequent drug use.

Education targeting known inhalants appears to be ineffective when it adopts scare tactics. However, education highlighting the potential impact of VSM on valued activities, such as capacity to play sport, may be useful.

Education about inhalants for parents and professional people likely to come into contact with VSM, such as teachers and welfare workers, and for communities where VSM occurs, has been shown to be of value.

Skills training, remedial education and employment have all been shown to contribute to reducing VSM.

Man Huffing on Church Roof:

According to the Mankato Free Press in Minnesota, a 20 year old man was caught “huffing” on the top of a church. The man was allegedly huffing “Freon from an air-conditioning unit and “a fire truck with a lift and bucket had to be called to get him down from the roof.”

Vermillion Teen STILL Hospitalized

From Keloland Television News, July 1st 2008

Last week we posted a blog about a South Dakota teen that was hospitalized after huffing compressed air with a friend in a mobile home park. That teen is still in the hospital, two weeks after the incident and a formal investigation is underway. Authorities say that the fact that she is still in the hospital is a sign that she faces some serious injuries that she could be dealing with for the rest of her life. And while we cannot find out her condition because of medical privacy laws, police say this case shows just how dangerous "huffing" can be.

Police are using this story as an opportunity to educate teens and their parents about the hidden dangers of inhalants. Police chief Art Mabry says “parents need to get involved with their kids,” and visit the websites their kids are on because many are learning how to get high from popular online sites.

Many parents and residents in the Vermillion area are taking his advice and keeping a closer watch on their children and their safety.