Don Carson LADC, LCSW
Outpatient Therapist/Consultant
Aroostook County
Caribou, Maine
How I got involved?
From “The County”
My family lives, works, and goes to
school here
AMHC, OSA have encouraged dual
competencies in MH and SA
Case Study of adult with chronic
huffing disorder-gasoline
1996 data revealed Aroostook County 6-
8th graders had highest level of inhalant
use in the state (Lifetime 18%)
Grants became available in 1998 for
Primary Prevention and Coalition Building
Organized gatekeepers who wanted “to
make a difference”
Decision made to attempt to knock
inhalant use down across Aroostook
County
Hawkins Catalano’s Communities
that Care Prevention technology
Primary Prevention
– Project Prevention
Coalition Building
– Aroostook Cares Best Practice Forum
Free National Inhalant and Poison
Awareness Week kits
Parent, teacher, Business Fact
Sheets, distribution of data
What have we accomplished?
It is on the Radar for:
– Helping Hands
– Houlton Police Department
– Aroostook County Boy Scout leaders
– TAMC Nurses: Inhalants 101, Medical aspects
– Job Corps Staff :Inhalants 101
– The Christopher Home: Inhalants
– Presque Isle Rotary Presentations
– Union 122 Parents/teachers/concerned others
– MH and SA Clinicians: Treatment of Inhalant Abuse
Radio WEGP Medical Monday
WAGM TV interviews
Aroostook Republican Public Service messages
We learned to recognize and seize
“teachable moments”
– ”Can I talk to you?”
Huffing Gas, paint, whiteout, whipped cream
– Abuse of poisons and toxins in group
homes
– Ether use at Job Corps
– Interrupting huffing incidents
“blind spots” for professionals
– effective assessment and intervention
To fulfill our mission to promote the
health and well-being of our
community
Inhalant use for 6-8th graders in
Aroostook County was 18% in 1996,
average in 2000, and we’re at 12.3%
in 2004 (MYDAUS 2004)
We share what we have learned with
others, we believe we are making a
difference
How do we sustain our efforts?
NIPAW for 8 years and counting
Continued commitment of
– Office of Substance Abuse
– Maine Inhalant Prevention Coalition
– New England Inhalant Prevention
Coalition
– ADCARE
– National Inhalant Prevention Web Site
– Free Inhalant Prevention Kits
What needs to be done?
Promote expectation of core
competencies in mental health and
substance abuse assessment and
treatment via licensing
“No door is the wrong door” for
inhalant users/families
Knit together ongoing initiatives
Develop more local experts in
inhalant and poison abuse prevention
Why do this?
They’re our children, we take it
personally
Provide children with a chance to live
up to their potential unhindered by
neurological or physical impairments
associated with use of inhalants
To improve adult’s awareness of the
risks of inhalant use and to teach
effective intervention skills
Thank you