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Drugs and Alcohol

Read these pages to learn more about drugs and alcohol.

Learn: How to find out if your teen is using drugs and alcohol What you can do about it How to Get support from schools

What substance abuse is:

• Substance abuse is what happens when teens use drugs and alcohol to feel better.
• They become dependent on drugs and alcohol. This means they feel they need the drug to feel better.
• Teens may start using drugs all the time, and forget about everything else.

How substance abuse affects teens with hearing loss:
Teens with hearing loss may use drugs and alcohol for many reasons. They may:

• Want to fit in with their hearing friends.
• Think drugs will help fix their problems.
• Think that things can't get any worse and they give up.

Hearing loss may cause your teen to feel all alone.

• Your teen may feel different from other kids.
• He may feel angry that no one understands him.
• Your teen may feel sad or bad about himself.
• He may be depressed.
• He may use drugs or alcohol to help him feel better.

If your teen is using drugs and alcohol, he has a serious problem that needs help fast.

Read about the signs of substance abuse and how you can tell if your teen has a problem.

Next: Signs of Substance Abuse

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