Caldwell Council on
Adolescent Health
Adolescent Health
918 West Avenue, NW
Lenoir, NC 28645
Lenoir, NC 28645
The Caldwell Council on Adolescent Health, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1983 with the purpose of reducing teenage pregnancy. The Council promotes positive life choices by using best practice models in the classroom. By teaching our curriculum, teenagers are empowered to make healthier life choices, mind and body. |
Our Mission
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| Page last updated: March 1, 2010 Page maintained by: Laura May |
| Please check back with CCAH often for updates and new information! |
| 2009-2010 United Way of Caldwell County Campaign Kick-Off www.caldwell-united way.org |
During adolescence, a teenager's life seems to be consumed with making choices. It is as if every day they are standing at a crossroads trying to figure out which road to take. This can feel like one the most confusing and frustrating times of their lives. On a daily basis a teenager is dealing with friends, school, gossip, peer pressure, siblings, and puberty to top it off! The issue of teenagers and choices has been the theme of CCAH’s life the last 25 years. We are the ones on the front line who go into every 7 th and 9 th grade classroom in Caldwell County to teach a 5 day curriculum on reproduction, teen pregnancy, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. We have often contemplated the issue of the prefrontal cortex in a teenager's brain. According to research, the prefrontal cortex of the human brain provides impulse control while also allowing people to make complex judgments. This part of the brain, which controls judgment and impulse, is not fully developed until the early 20s. So does it truly make a difference to inform teenagers of the consequences of sex? Our answer to that question is absolutely YES. School nurses, counselors, drop-out prevention coordinators, mentoring programs - all of these people have dedicated their lives to better the lives young people. They want only to make a difference and to help teenagers make positive choices. Here's a great example in Caldwell County - Last year, West Caldwell High School, who had averaged the highest teen pregnancy rate in our county for several years received some great news, they now had the lowest. The previous year, West had employed a full time nurse, social worker, drop-out prevention coordinator and had a great team of counselors. We have no doubt that this is the reason not only the teen pregnancy rate dropped, but the drop-out rate as well. As for parents, the best thing you can do for your child is listen and love. One thing we know for sure is that parents should never stop talking, never stop trying, and never give up. They may think there child is not listening, but they are. We tell parents this all the time that have become frustrated and feel as if their teen has completely tuned them out. Adolescence will never be an easy time for teens, not even the popular ones. However, a teenager who feels love, support, and a caring presence in their life, will at least have a support system in place to help them cope with difficult choices. |
| HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE MAKE BETTER CHOICES |
