string180
02-28-2007, 03:17 PM
I am writing on behalf of my sister-in-law and her 18 year old son (our nephew). They have had issues with pot and beer use for several years with him. He barely graduated High School. His older sister is a Junior at UCLA and lives out of the home. He lives at home and has grown terribly defiant. My sister-in-law is afraid to throw him out, but their home environment has grown quite toxic. He brings High School age kids back to their house when no one is home to smoke pot and drink beer. He refuses to go to therapy or stop his behavior and now that he is 18, she can't compel him to go into a program. He is currently enrolled in a Jr. College, but is already on academic probation and we suspect he has stopped attending classes. He has a job at Starbucks that he is in danger of losing due to lateness and no-shows.
This is a dire situation. His self-esteem is quite low. He has always been a good kid, but ADHD, being quite small for his age and a general emotional immaturity have eroded his sense of self.
He has always been an inspiration to his younger cousins, especially my oldest son. The last few times our family has gotten together, however, my son (who had his own bouts with defiance and some pot use this past Fall) kept his distance from his cousin. For the first time, he didn't want to hang out with him.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thank you.
This is a dire situation. His self-esteem is quite low. He has always been a good kid, but ADHD, being quite small for his age and a general emotional immaturity have eroded his sense of self.
He has always been an inspiration to his younger cousins, especially my oldest son. The last few times our family has gotten together, however, my son (who had his own bouts with defiance and some pot use this past Fall) kept his distance from his cousin. For the first time, he didn't want to hang out with him.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thank you.