“Do not rely on the school system” to handle these problems, Helen says.“Check out the Internet” for information about where to get assistance.

When she was 11 years old and living in Freeport, Arielle S. says she began drinking alcohol heavily.

As a sixth-grader at St. Christopher’s School in Baldwin, she felt alone and alienated from her parents, and drinking gave her a new sense of confidence.

“At my parents’ dinner parties, I would sip the wine and champagne. I felt I belonged and was no longer an outsider,” she said, “especially when I would hang out with other teenage drinkers at school.”

Every week or two she would raid her parents’ liquor cabinet, take two or three shots of vodka at a time, replacing it with water. “Every time something upset me, such as forgetting to do my homework or having an argument with my parents, I reached for a drink,” she said.

This led to drugs - marijuana and then cocaine addiction. Arielle suffered depression, attempted suicide, moved from school to school and sought therapy. Finally, she found a school specializing in helping young people and their families heal from the damages of addiction. Today, 18, sober and drug-free, she hopes to graduate high school next year.

Her story is not unlike that of Adam C. of North Bellmore. He remembers finishing half-empty wine glasses at family gatherings at age 6. At 10 he was sneaking alcohol out of his parents’ liquor cabinet.

“I was drinking Jack Daniel’s every day by 14,” Adam said. “I couldn’t stand who I was, had severe depressions and felt suicidal.” Adam stole from his parents, from 7-Elevens, drug dealers and liquor stores. Once he hijacked a car and wrecked it, but he was never caught. “I hit bottom and had to do something,” he said. “While still in school there were many kids with alcohol and drug problems like me. A classmate even hanged himself.”

Adam finally managed to get sober because of his parents’ intervention. They demanded that he undergo therapy, and a drug and alcohol counselor recommended that he attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Now 24, Adam has been sober for eight years. He works at a North Bellmore bank and has an associate’s degree in business. “What helps me today,” he said, “is that I sponsor young people and go to meetings every day. I feel I have a new life.”

Still, Arielle and Adam face a lifelong battle to stay sober. Their stories, verified in conversations with their parents, reflect a growing trend of young people around the country struggling with alcohol addiction.

An estimated 5 to 6 million students, aged 12 to 17, require treatment for alcohol-related addiction problems each year. In a 2001 Centers for Disease Control survey, 31.5 percent of high school students questioned reported “hazardous” drinking (five or more drinks in one setting) within the last 30 days. And a recent study by the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine says that underage drinking costs the United States $53 billion annually, with auto accidents accounting for about a third of that.

The study calls for a massive assault against underage drinking, including higher taxes on liquor, limits on alcohol advertising and its availability. The report also recommends a major media campaign on the effects of youth alcohol consumption.

“Underage drinking often starts with alienation at home,” says Wayne Rothwell, who has spent 25 years as a youth alcohol counselor and treated Arielle in 2001 at South Oaks Hospital in Amityville. He says a sense of isolation sets in and a breakdown of communication develops between the parent and the child. “Many young people are influenced by their environment. Adolescents who live in a family of drinkers are more likely to drink at an early age,” Rothwell said. “For most adolescent alcoholics, this is a period of unhappiness and despair.”

He added, “Alcohol is cheap, available and a way for them to escape from their uncomfortable feelings.”

Alicia-Maria G., 17, of Dix Hills, says she found acceptance among her peers when she began to drink at age 14. “I stole from my family and friends to feed my addictions,” which came to include marijuana and Ecstasy. She said she was kicked out of one high school, and “skipped most of my classes” in another. Today, after spending a year at the same residential school that Arielle attended, Alicia-Maria is sober and drug-free and plans to complete her GED this summer.

The school provided Arielle and Alicia-Maria with therapeutic support 24 hours a day and also had them attend AA meetings. Each was responsible for daily chores, such as cleaning the dorm, preparing food and attending daily group meetings led by a senior student. Each confronted her issues of depression, frustration, anger and upsetting relationships with one or more of their family members. Parents also attend monthly group meetings to deal with their own issues regarding their children.

Teenage addictions and mental problems can be hard to diagnose. Arielle’s mother, Ellen S., points out that it was very hard to know whether it was chemistry, environment or hormones that caused Arielle’s problem. “Look, Arielle’s sleeping patterns changed,” her mother said, adding that as Arielle began to mature physically, “she became defiant and manipulative and dishonest. It was hard to diagnose whether this was a nurturing or nature thing.”

Ellen’s message to other parents whose children have addictions is to do an “enormous” amount of research to find help for their kids. “Do not rely on the school system to handle these problems,” she said. “Check out the Internet for information about where to get assistance.”