This knowledge provides the foundation for Protecting You/Protecting Me (PYPM), an alcohol-prevention curriculum created by MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) that Hazelden is publishing in October. The curriculum is designed to reduce alcohol-related injury and death in our nation's youth. It is significant for two reasons: It is aimed at impressionable young people in grades 1-5, and it gives Hazelden a full continuum of evidence-based, model substance abuse prevention curricula for young people.

Model programs for K-12
"Hazelden now offers model programs for alcohol and other drug prevention for young people from kindergarten through grade 12," said Sue Thomas, senior acquisition editor at Hazelden. "We have PYPM for grades 1-5, Project Northland for grades 6-8, and Class Action for grades 9-12."

All three of the programs have achieved model program status from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which means the programs have been scientifically tested to document their effectiveness.

"Protecting You/Protecting Me is a five-year program designed to be taught in the classroom each year over five years," said Thomas. "It is so important to reach kids before they start making choices about chemical use. It's critical that they develop the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions when faced with alcohol-use choices."

The curriculum is based on current brain research and describes how substance abuse affects brain development and how children's brains are different than adult brains. By focusing on the effects of alcohol on the developing brain during the first 21 years, the program clearly communicates that the risks of using alcohol for youth and adults are not the same. Youth are at far greater risk than adults, says Thomas.

The program content compares the brain to a computer. "During at least the first 21 years of life, the unimpaired brain develops a person who is ready to function independently. . . . Alcohol and other mind-altering drugs act like 'computer viruses.' They interfere with the neurotransmitter's delivery system by changing, deleting or blocking the codes or messages that our brain uses to operate. Because the developing brain is on a schedule, interfering with brain centers, even for a short while, can change the trajectory of a person's development. There is no known safe amount of non-prescribed psychoactive drugs for the developing brain."

The PYPM curriculum provides a continuum of interactive classroom modules that provide 40 lessons (eight in each of grades 1-5) and 40 required reinforcement activities to promote students' ownership in the program. Each lesson carefully integrates several standard educational objectives, including those related to health behaviors and information, personal and interpersonal skills, and identifying influencing factors. Trained school staff, prevention specialists, and high school students enrolled in a peer mentor/leadership course can teach the lessons, which last 30-50 minutes. The curriculum addresses eight topics: Our Brain, Growth and Development, Health and Safety, Rules and Laws, Friends, Choices and Decisions, Media Awareness, and Communication

PYPM's interactive and effective teaching processes include role-play, small group and classroom discussion, reading, writing, story telling, surveys, art and music.

Elementary students who received PYPM (vs. controls who did not) showed increased vehicle safety skills (ie, the ability to protect themselves when they have no option but to ride with an impaired driver); increased media literacy and ability to resist advertising appeals; increased knowledge about the brain and personal development; and increased stress management and decision-making skills.

Training to deliver PYPM is provided by Hazelden to instructors in person or online. Curriculum binders for each year are $125 each. For more information on PYPM call 800-328-9000.

--by Marty Duda

Published in The Voice, Summer 2006