.

Rules of Thumb For Detecting Alcohol Use:

• If you think that your child is intoxicated, refer to our “Detecting Drug Abuse Page”. The methods described there are deliberate and reliable. They can also help you determine whether or not alcohol is the only thing in their system.
• Understand that you are very unlikely to catch your child intoxicated. By the time you do, you’ve already got a problem. Experimentation starts early and timidly. As confidence grows, use grows. Teens don’t typically get careless until it has become a matter of routine. 91% of teens that try alcohol while underage, continue to use alcohol while underage. If you’ve caught them once, change your tactics because they will try harder to hide it.
• Don’t wait for the obvious signs. Address the subtle signs immediately. Even if ambiguous or inconclusive. Every time you observe and address a subtle sign of drinking, you show your child that you’re informed, that you’re aware and that you care. Visit our “Detecting Drug Abuse” page for tips on how to painlessly address your suspicions.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interests: Be alert for changes in the interests, activities, hobbies or expressions of your child. Public expressions forecast interests and intents. Recognize and address these as they emerge. Some examples include:

• Coming home after 8 on school nights, or after 10 on weekends. (If not engaged in structured, chaperoned activities.)
• Wearing or possessing Alcohol Branded Merchandice (ABM)
• Increasingly protective of phone conversations and social networking profiles (SNP)
• Regularly skipping family dinners to “hang-out” with friends
• Claiming that an early curfew is killing their social life. (They’ve joined the party-pack.)
• Practicing dry versions of drinking games like Quarters, Beer Pong or Flip Cup
• Probing: “Mom, what would you do if you caught me drunk?”
• Sudden distancing and defaming of long-term friends
• Joining an older peer group (8th Grade with 10th Graders / Freshmen with Juniors)

Cover Ups: Be alert for signs that your teenager is covering something up. There are some specific things to look for regarding drinking behavior.

• Pushing for a curfew that is past your bedtime
• Avoiding parents when arriving home
• Using an unusual entrance when arriving home
• Doing laundry at night
• Suddenly doing their own laundry when mom usually does it
• Evidence of vomit outside of house
• Fresh and heavy odor of breath freshener or perfume upon arriving home
• Hiding bumps, bruises or scrapes (from falls)
• Going out -at night- with a back pack or water bottle in hand

In The Car: If you’re child is old enough to drive, their vehicle can hold a treasure trove of evidence. Make a habit of borrowing their car, or taking a look inside early on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Look specifically for:

• Bottle openers on their key chain or in their center console
• Bottle caps between the seats or on the floorboards
• Branded Alcohol trinkets or merchandise in the car
• Sticky or smelly, telltale spills, on the seats of floor
• Evidence of vomit
• Minor damage to wheels or bumpers of car
• Major damage that wasn’t immediately reported

Physical Symptoms: Many people are over-confident in their ability to detect intoxication. While it’s easy to tell when a subject is really drunk, its much more difficult to detect light or moderate drinking. Our “Detecting Drug Abuse” page will provide you with the means of confidently diagnosing even light drinking on the part of your teen. The following list are general signs that you can use for informational purposes.

• Swaying, sagging or leaning on something for balance while standing
• Delayed or inappropriate response to basic questions
• Slurred speech or inappropriate use of vocabulary
• Odor of alcoholic beverage on breath
• Trouble with fine motor skills (tying shoes, picking up change)
• Unusual volume of voice
• Unusually volatile emotions
• Flushed cheeks, nose or reddened eyes
• Pronounced urination (polyuria)

Testing For Intoxication: Again, refer to our “Detecting Drug Use” page for instructions on how to test for intoxication. Subtle differences in the way these tests are administered, can make all the difference. Generally, the methods used are:

• Basic mental acuity tests (ABC’s, Counting Backwards)
• Basic physical impairment tests (Stand on one leg, Walk the Line)
• Alcohol test strip used to sample saliva
• Analyze subjects breath via breathalyzer or Alcosensor type device
• Urine test (Can be conducted up to 3 days later)
• Hair Test (EtG): Can detect alcohol use for months after each dose

Remember to greet your child each time they come home. You’ll never detect substance abuse if you don’t look.

Alcohol Tutorial: Page 21 of 23