Alcohol impairs judgment, which can lead to risky behavior and fatal accidents. Long-term alcohol abuse can cause damage to the brain and other organs, and binge drinking can kill. If you are a teacher, scout or youth group leader, there may come a time when you have to discuss the dangers of alcohol and its effects on the brain with your group. If you are a parent, it is extremely likely that you will have this discussion. But knowing about the effects of alcohol on the brain isn't just a topic for people working with teens. It is also a topic of concern in health care settings and the workplace.
Instructions
1. Determine the venue appropriate to your group size. If you are teaching a small group (fewer than 10), an informal setting in a quiet place may be the best approach.
2. Have a more formal presentation with a projector and slides or a PowerPoint presentation if you are going to speak to a classroom of 15 or more.
3. Contact your local police, fire or EMS department for assistance for a large, formal group. These professionals deal with people who are suffering from the effects of alcohol on a regular basis, and they may be able to provide information to help with your presentation.
4. Plan and prepare for your discussion. You'll find useful information along with illustrations at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). If you are speaking to a younger audience, Neuroscience for Kids has useful information geared toward elementary and junior high students. See Resources for links to these sites.
5. Open with an introduction that you are going to talk about the effects of alcohol on the brain. Then give a brief outline of your presentation. Tell your group why this topic is important to you. If it is a small, informal group, consider having the group sit in a circle or around a single table. If your group is larger and more formal, have a projector slide ready with your name and topic.
6. Give an overview of the impact of drinking. A slide with statistics about drinking-related deaths is useful to present to a large group. You can find these statistics at Above the Influence (see Resources). If you are giving your talk to a small group and you are not using a projector, have handouts for your group.
7. Talk about the brain's anatomy and which regions are specifically affected by alcohol and how. When you talk about how certain regions of the brain are impaired or slowed, tell your audience what the results of that impairment means in real-world terms. For example, the DontServeTeens.gov website says that alcohol use contributes to 300 teen suicides a year. According to a study by the Journal of Psychiatric Research, alcohol or other drugs were found in nearly 42 percent of adult suicide victims. Talk about how people under the influence of alcohol are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, which can lead to STDs.
8. Talk about the long-term effects of alcohol use on the brain. The NIAAA website has a good article on the long-term effects of heavy drinking on the brain (see Resources).
9. After you've covered your last topic, give your audience a quick summary and allow for a question and answer session.
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