With prom and graduation season approaching, the Cape Cod Hospital School-Based Health Centers sponsored a timely talk on teen behavior from on Monday, March 30, at the Barnstable High School Performing Arts Center. The keynote speaker for the event was Stephen Wallace, Chairman and CEO of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), and author of the new book, “Reality Gap: Alcohol, Drugs and Sex – What Parents Don’t Know and Teens Aren’t Telling.”
Wallace shared what he has learned as a school psychologist and adolescent counselor, as well as results of original and ground-breaking research by SADD and Liberty Mutual Insurance on teen behaviors. His talk revealed a portrait of modern-day adolescence filled with potentially deadly behaviors carefully hidden from parents and other adults. He also delivered a message of hope and inspiration by pointing to the powerful role parents and other mentors can play in the lives of young people.