How will it affect

2014

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Apr 11, 2013
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My younger son is a high school student and is having some adolescent storms recently.I think it may be helpful to see a counselor or a physician. But will it hurt him to get in the academy? Will the academy think he is unstable due to the visits? Thank you for your help.
 
Every person is different. If your son "sees someone" and they talk, and work things out, and he's fine..."I AM GUESSING" he'd be fine. Realize I'm not a military physician and I definitely do NOT work at DODMERB.

Now...I CAN say that if your son is placed on medication to "control mood, mental state, etc...etc..." then that WILL have impact.

But the MOST important thing to know (and I know you realize this but I state it for those that don't think about it, like adolescents...) is that your son's health is FIRST priority! The academy, etc., is secondary.


Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
+1 to flieger on the meds. I believe it is almost a certainty he would not be accepted to the academy if he is on meds. I certainly know of AFROTC cadets (non-scholarship) who abandoned their participation when they were made aware they would need to be off them for at least a year, and performing well, prior to SFT in order to have a chance to be selected.

I also take it this is more than the normal adolescent storms and also agree that his health needs to come first. Hopefully talking to someone besides Mom and Dad would be helpful.

Good luck. Raising adolescents is sometimes a thankless job, but hopefully pays big dividends in the end.
 
Now...I CAN say that if your son is placed on medication to "control mood, mental state, etc...etc..." then that WILL have impact.
+1 to flieger on the meds. I believe it is almost a certainty he would not be accepted to the academy if he is on meds.

Even the recommendation of mood-control medication for ***insert diagnosis here*** can be cause for DODMERB to look very closely at the records and possibly deny.

That being said, as a parent I would never-NEVER-withhold any medical treatment for my child, including counseling, on the presumption that it may affect his military eligibility later. His health and well-being are the priority.
 
Would using anti-depressants say over a year ago be something to be concerned about?

What if it's only around 7 months at the time of the exam?
 
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