Ex-legal high smoker, 13, back on track mother says

They boy's mother credited the help of support services, including anger management and counselling, for the change. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The mother of a then 12-year-old boy who got high on synthetic cannabis and attacked a man at the Hastings Blossom Parade says her son is changing his ways.

The Flaxmere woman, who did not want to be named, spoke to Hawke's Bay Today in September last year and said she desperately needed support for her son, who had stopped listening to her.

Recently she said she attended a family group conference with the boy and the police to work out a way forward, after he had stomped on the head of the 49-year-old victim.

The police had facilitated the conference and tabled a conviction for her son.

"We had to sit there and hear what he had been charged with. He admitted it and said he was very remorseful.

"The victim didn't want to come but forwarded his concerns to the co-ordinator of the conference. He said he wishes all the best for the offender."

The victim had written he hoped the young man would be able to complete whatever plan the family and police came up with.

The plan involved the now-13-year-old boy being on curfew from 9pm until 9am, and that was monitored closely by his family and the police.

"If they see him out on the streets after 9pm they'll pick him up and bring him home."

So far her son had responded well and had stopped smoking synthetic cannabis products.

"I think the fact that they are harder to get now has made a difference, and there are no adults buying it for him."

He was still attending school and was putting a CV together to find work.

"One of the teachers at school has even offered to tutor him over the holidays.

"I said, 'I can't afford to pay you', and they said, 'I don't want money. I just want to sit beside him and keep him on track'."

They boy's mother credited the help of support services, including anger management and counselling, for the change.

"We tried to get help for him long before this incident but unless your kid has gone through the justice system they won't do anything unless you can pay for it."

She said the family had been visiting "whanau land" on the Napier-Taupo road.

"He's been going possum trapping with his uncles, camping, it's just made him appreciate his family even more. He has realised what he's done is not the path he wants to be going down."

For her the most significant change has been the return of her son's smile.

"He's a lot more talkative, he's got his smile back. He's got a reason to smile.

"It's been a challenge but he's been doing really well. His self-esteem is slowly building again."