|
| |
SADD National Conference 2013
June 22 - 25
Orlando, FL
$100 decrease in cost,
start planning now and let us know if you plan to attend.
|
|
| About SADD |  | |
SADD is a part of Prevention First. This newsletter is made possible by funding from the Traffic Safety Division of Illnois Department of Transportation.
|
Parent Resources
| | ParentTeenMatters is a great e-newsletter that comes out monthly, providing valuable information on helping guide teens to make positive decision.
|
|
Featured Article
|
 |
|
What action, if any, do you want your members to take? Add a "Find out more" link to additional information that you may have hosted on your website
|
|
|
Students Against Destructive Decisions |
|
April 2013 SADDLines #2
Happy April!
|
|
Greetings!
I am so excited about our 4th annual DomeShift Youth Advocacy Day and Distracted Driving Summit! I hope you will take advantage of this great opportunity at a great price. Check out the information on AT&T's
virtual driving simulator sponsored by the Peers Foundation. You won't want to miss the opportunity to take it for a drive. It will be set up out in front of the hotel from 4:00 to 7:00. This is just one of many opportunities that will be available this year. Register today!
Robyn
IL SADD Coordinator |
|
Latest Addition to DOME SHIFT
Dome Shift 2013 Youth Advocacy Day & Distracted Driving Summit will be held May 13th and 14th at Illinois' State Capitol. Hundreds of youth will gather to meet state lawmakers to educate them about teen traffic safety issues, distracted driving and underage drinking prevention.
May is National Youth Traffic Safety Month, and a statewide Distracted Driving Summit will be taking place at Dome Shift, and AT&T will be sponsoring a virtual reality simulator experience.
 | | new to DomeShift this year |
The PEERS In Car Simulator gives consumers a realistic driving experience inside of an actual car using virtual reality glasses. Several television monitors accompany the simulator allowing those looking on to get involved in every demonstration. One monitor shows what the "driver" is seeing in real-time, another plays the AT&T documentary, "The Last Text," and a third features several It Can Wait PSAs.
The simulator is open to anyone who would like to participate over the age of 13, and the total experience takes between 5-7 minutes. Before entering the simulator participants take a pre-survey, and after completing the simulation they take a post-survey to measure any change in perception of the dangers of texting while driving.
|
|
Alcohol Awareness Month is upon us, so I want to talk about alcohol and the adolescent brain.
In middle school, and high school I remember being told that alcohol was destructive and dangerous. I remember being told that if I were caught with alcohol, it wasn't just the fury of parents I'd have to contend with, but also the wrath of the law. These were and are all incredibly valid reasons to abstain from alcohol until the ripe age of 21 is reached. However, the extent of the danger was not fleshed out for me until after I graduated college, admittedly, until last month. I went to Glenbard South High School to hear brain researcher and prevention expert, Dr. Aaron White, speak about the effects alcohol had on brain function and specifically, the development of the brain. I had always been told that alcohol led to risky behavior, and therein laid the danger to my physical self. The story doesn't end there, though, even though my high school education did.  Due to brain development, adolescents are predisposed to risk-taking, and thus more likely to try substances in the first place. These substances then impede brain functioning from the top down, making other risks more attractive. But these substances also have a greater impact on adolescents than on adult users, because their brains are still developing. Dr. White explained that brain development continues into a person's early twenties, their early twenties.
It blew my mind to hear that my mind may still be undergoing the structural changes that occur from adolescence to adulthood!
Due to the ethical, and not to mention legal ramifications, the teenage brain itself has not been the focus of most experiments. Animal studies clearly suggest that compared to adult brains, the adolescent brains suffer greater abnormal changes when exposed to alcohol. Scientists believe these effects to be reproduced in larger mammals.
As Dr. White outlined the hard-hitting science associated with each major brain structure, it dawned on me that this made any and all excuses for underage drinking null and void. Point blank: even if a minor were to drink with the utmost caution and moderation-under the supervision of one's parents for instance-he/she could still be doing irreversible impairment to his/her brain.
I came out of the lecture having a better grasp of the neurobiological effects of alcohol on the adolescent brain, and although I don't feel qualified to reiterate the science, I do want to repeat the overarching message: exposure to alcohol by the developing brain may cause permanent brain damage.
To learn more compelling facts, and the advanced science associated with the effects of alcohol, check out these links:
Alcohol's Effects on the Adolescent Brain-What Can Be Learned From Animal Models
|
|
Prom & Graduation
Prom and Graduation are a very exciting time in a teenager's life. They are growing up and branching out into the world. It is important however that we as SADD advisors, students, and parents reinforce the message that alcohol is harmful and not intended for teens. SADD National has several resources for your chapter to promote a safe and happy end of the year. Resources include Think About It ... Prom & Graduation Season here which highlights different activities chapters can do in order to inform students about underage drinking consequence. Also, there is 21 or Bust here which is an community-based campaign to reduce underage drinking using law enforcement and retailers to detour access of alcohol to minors. Lastly, the Illinois Liquor Control Commission has the "Your Actions Matter" Campaign at www.youractionsmatter.org which informs adults that not providing alcohol to minors is everyone's responsibility. Let's make the 2013 Prom and Graduation season a great success!
|
|
Social Norms
Many students may be tempted to drink alcohol during this celebratory time of year because they perceive it to be the norm. Often teen perceptions especially around alcohol are off base because they hear about parties and situations where fellow students may have drank alcohol. Also, often teen movies depict drinking as a normal behavior around prom and graduation. According to the 2012 Illinois Youth Survey (IYS) 43.6% of 12 Grade students in Illinois reported they had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days; however the perception of their peers was that 78.1% of them were consuming alcohol on a regular basis. Help teens realized that perception is not always reality and reinforce the message that most teens are alcohol free. Let them know that being alcohol free is the norm and it is okay to stay sober during Prom and Graduation season.
|
|
All About April
This is the 27th annual Alcohol Awareness Month sponsored by National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc
(NCADD) to increase public awareness and understanding aimed at reducing the stigma that too often prevents individuals and families from seeking help. The theme of this year's Alcohol Awareness Month is "Help for Today. Hope For Tomorrow".
There are many ways SADD Chapters can get involved and do activities to raise school and community awareness issues surrounding alcohol abuse. Your SADD chapter can educate your fellow peers by having an activity table set up during lunch times inviting students to learn about the harms of underage drinking. SADD chapters can do an alcohol fact scavenger hunt, inviting classrooms to participate in finding the facts around school and rewarding the winner with a prize like pizza or donuts. Best of all, your SADD chapter can sponsor a community chat around alcohol issues, creating a forum for students, parents, businesses, schools, and others to discuss community issues surrounding alcohol abuse.
For more information about Alcohol Awareness Month visit the NCADD website at www.ncadd.org
April is also Distracted Driving Awareness Month. This has been, and will remain a focus of Illinois Sadd's agenda, so hopefully your chapter is continuing its Distracted Driving Awareness activities! If your chapter is looking for something to do, AT&T's It Can Wait campaign is always a great place to start.
|
Looking Forward to May!
Click it or Ticket
National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization is May 20 - June 2, 2013. The cornerstone of NHTSA's seat belt communications program is the national
Click It or Ticket May Mobilization. Go here for more details and campaign materials to help you rally your officers and alert the public to prepare for maximum high-visibility seat belt enforcement during the day and also the night.
Check out this activity as a fun way to engage in seat belt safety!
|
|
MTC 2013-2014 Recruits
Illinois SADD in conjunction with SADD National is offering the Mobilizing the Community: Youth Taking the Lead Program (MTC) to registered SADD chapters for FREE! We are recruiting SADD chapters, school leaders, and communities to participate in MTC for the 2013-2014 school years.
If your SADD chapter is looking for an innovative way to address underage drinking in your community then this is for you! Also, it is a way to get your SADD chapter and community on the map, as your group will be included in the SADD national's formal study and evaluation of the program. This is your opportunity to be on the cutting edge of prevention and be recognized.
The program is valued at a cost of $250 for the kit and materials and technical assistance valued at $1500.00, that your chapter is able to have for FREE! This campaign was developed by SADD national and IL SADD chapters have been chosen to pilot the campaign, and evaluate the entire process. This is such a great opportunity for your SADD chapter to be acknowledged on the national level.
To get your SADD chapter signed up for this incredible opportunity contact Sarah Wright at sarah.wright@prevention.org. Click HERE for more information about the MTC program. Space is very limited for the 2013-2014 MTC pilot groups, so it is important you sign up ASAP!
|
|
No Bull Challenge
It's not too late to get involved in the Great American NO BULL Challenge! Enroll by April 30th!
If you didn't check out last month's plug for this amazing opportunity, do so now! The Great American NO BULL Challenge is a social action organization that offers an amazing opportunity to youth; partners and communities around the world promote digital responsibility.
 A global video contest and education program that impact millions of teens by spreading awareness about anti-bullying and digital responsibility in a unique and exciting way. By inspiring youth to have a voice and demonstrate leadership skills through video creation, the campaign truly inspires creative social change at the youth level.
NO BULL is committed to inspiring youth to create powerful films as a platform for dialogue on the most important issues of our time.
Click here for all the details!
|
|
Reserve the Simulator for your school!
2013 has already been a busy year for the Distracted Driving Simulator, so May is bound to be extremely busy! Reserve it ASAP for your school or club! on our website. The Simulator is a great, hands-on tool that uses cutting-edge technology to increase awareness about dangerous driving. Students can take a virtual drive that demonstrates the realistic effects of trying to multitask behind the wheel.
 | |
A group of students at Glenbard West High School gather to test their driving skills.
|
|
|
Featured Member of the Month: McKenna Carrel
My name is McKenna Carrell, I am sixteen years old and live in Kankakee Illinois. This is my second year on the student advisory board for SADD, I also am currently working with my school's SADD chapter about promoting more awareness and help with depression, self harm, and eating disorders. This is a topic I feel strongly about and that I am working on educating students, and parents on. I am such an advocate for these issues because I am currently recovering from self harm, and an eating disorder.
I have been controlled by my eating disorder as long as I can remember, and when I started high school it took full control. After much struggling, I asked for help, and was admitted into my second treatment center in a year. I spent 8 weeks in treatment, and just got released this April. While in treatment I found my determination to get better, faced my problems head on, found the correct coping skills, and discovered who I really am.
Two weeks out, I am doing so much better, I still struggle and deal with my eating disorder daily, but I have learned how to deal with my issues. I have started teaching people more about eating disorders and self harm, the effects, and the mental and emotional problems behind it all. I started a blog recently to talk about these issues, my experience, and helping others going through tough times. I have learned that things get better and there is so much to enjoy in life!
Link to my blog
|
|
|
April showers better bring those May flowers. Hopefully you are as excited about Dome Shift 2013, and all the other exciting opportunities this Spring, as we are.
Please email me at: Zoe.Schuler@Prevention.org with suggestions of what you would like to see shared here, and on Facebook or our website. Also, I'd like to spotlight your SADD chapter, so please get in touch with me if your chapter is doing big things (and I am sure it is!).
As always, if you haven't done so, please register your chapter!!
Sincerely,
Zoe Schuler Illinois SADD |
|
|
