Spring Creek Lodge

[Aunt Shelly]

Received a letter from Alex.  He is worried about coming home and facing everyone. He won't have to worry about that because there is noone here that will judge him.  I'm sure when he reads all of this posted here he will see how many people care about his welfare, even those he doesn't know. That seems to be the whole of all of this, his welfare.  Everyone involved here wants what is best for him.  It's just everyones perspective is different.  We all come from different situations and are looking at this from different points of view.  Parents, family, friends and all who have posted here are coming from different sides of this.  NOT to make light of all that some of you have gone through, Alex has made no impression that he is being abused.  He is smart enough to get through to one of us in his letters or phone calls.  Even if they are monitored there would be some sign.  He is opening up to his parents and communicating. That is something that has not happened in a long time.  He also realizes all the things he took for granted when he had them and the things drugs took away from his life.  I don't believe that would have happened had he stayed home.  He is also sober.  That in itself is HUGE. There may be a time when he comes home that he will relapse.  Just maybe now he will have the tools to help himself.  There are success stories.  I hope Alex will be one of them.

[CCM girl 1989]

Aunt Shelly,

Tools, you think he has gotten tools from SCL? Are you being serious? I give that place zero credit. I don't want to be negative, but unless he is given real treatment he will most definately relapse. So, be prepared, and prepare his parents for yet another let down! Damn you Alex, what the heck is wrong with you boy?!!

He needs to be in real treatment, near his home so his parents can participate.

As far as him telling you what really happens at these places........I'm sure he wants a roof over his head when he turns 18. If he's smart he will not rock the boat.

Look we all do crazy shit in our youth. For example, when I turned 18, I was at a party in Atherton, CA. I got into an arguement with my boyfriend (he was scamming on another girl, but I was doing the exact same with the boy whose house it was). Anyway, we had a couple beers in us.......I went to leave the party..........I got in my car........backed outta the driveway with my boyfriend chasing after me.......I put it in 1st gear to go towards home.........he laid down in front of my car......I paused......put it in reverse......I thought he was just laying infront of my car...........but his legs were rapped around my tire! I ran over one of his legs........OUCH.........he was pissed!!!! I stopped when I realized I ran over something...........he ran and did a flying leap onto my car hood, and wrapped his arms around my windsheild............he was yelling and screaming at me.........I couldn't think clearly....I was scared........I drove all the way home to Portola Valley with him on the hood of my car. How stupid of me, I could've accidently killed him! Shit happens, I got home, he started breaking everything in sight, cops were called he went to Juvy. We made up the day after :smile:.

What I am trying to say, is we all do stupid shit! I got a little off track.......sorry! I doubt he deserved what he got.

[CaughtInTheMiddle]

It isn't worth it Aunt Shelly :exclaim:

 He knows after 18 his Parents, Aunt Shelly or I or his Girlfriend wouldn't leave him there.

 We will see how things went for him when he gets home until then it isn't worth chatting here. We have never been in a program like this or knew someone in a program like this. So I guess we can not completely relate to anyone on this forum.

[AtomicAnt]

On 2006-02-22 19:04:00, Aunt Shelly wrote:

"Received a letter from Alex.  He is worried about coming home and facing everyone. He won't have to worry about that because there is no one here that will judge him.  I'm sure when he reads all of this posted here he will see how many people care about his welfare, even those he doesn't know. That seems to be the whole of all of this, his welfare.  Everyone involved here wants what is best for him.  It's just everyones perspective is different.  We all come from different situations and are looking at this from different points of view.  Parents, family, friends and all who have posted here are coming from different sides of this.  NOT to make light of all that some of you have gone through, Alex has made no impression that he is being abused.  He is smart enough to get through to one of us in his letters or phone calls.  Even if they are monitored there would be some sign.  He is opening up to his parents and communicating. That is something that has not happened in a long time.  He also realizes all the things he took for granted when he had them and the things drugs took away from his life.  I don't believe that would have happened had he stayed home.  He is also sober.  That in itself is HUGE. There may be a time when he comes home that he will relapse.  Just maybe now he will have the tools to help himself.  There are success stories.  I hope Alex will be one of them.  "

One of the most insidious aspects of these programs is that one can never tell what is real, what is situational adaptation, and what is outright acting. When phrases like "...realizes all the things he took for granted..." show up, this sounds like the program putting words into his mouth, so to speak.  He may or may not believe them. It is the program's defense for their use of deprivation. Keep in mind, Alex cannot progress in the levels unless he writes things like this, so of course he will write things like this.

One problem with the "tools" that these programs provide is that they are so very fragile. They are fragile because there is no balance. In a program environment where dissenting views cannot even be spoken, the graduate has no 'tools' to defend his new thinking against outside critics. The new behaviors were brought about by force, not by reason and so usually cannot stand against a good counter argument. The program's views only stand up when the subject is isolated. Inside the program, the isolation is obvious. Outside the program, the rules are to stay away from 'negative influences' which means any dissenting opinion. This is a form of isolation. The program would say this is avoiding negative influences. But is it really a means to avoid valid opposing views? If the program is really so strong and so right, it would not fear opposing views, but would welcome debate with confidence.

"Alex has made no impression that he is being abused." Abuse is a loaded term. To me, anyone forced into this kind of incarceration and forced to endure others exerting this level of control over him is already being abused. Physical assaults are not required, but an ever present danger given the programs' penchant for 'restraint.' Since he has completed a seminar, he has suffered verbal abuse whether he or you recognize it or not.

[BuzzKill]

What Atomic Ant is telling you about the abuse is important. The fact is, most of the kids in these programs will at first deny they are being abused. The generic question "Are you being abused" will invariable be No. This despite the fact what they are enduring on a daily basis would be recognized as abuse by any un-biased witness.

This is why you must ask very specific questions.

Such as:

What did you have to eat today? For the past few days?

Have you been physically hurt in any way, for any reason? Have you witnessed anyone else being hurt?

Have you heard others screaming b/c they are being hurt?  

Explain what a "stress position" is - and ask if they have ever been forced to maintain one - or, are they aware of others who have?

Have you been called derogatory names? Shamed in front of others? Made to confess embarrassing secretes?

Do you feel pressured to accept ideas that are not your own? Are you fearful of the consequences of speaking your mind?

How much sleep do you get a night? Is it uninterrupted and restful?

How many kids are in your dorm/room? Does everyone have their own bed?

Are you afraid?
Hungry?
Tired?
Stressed / anxious?
Embarrassed / Humiliated?
Sick and unattended?
Aware of others who are?

And, you must keep in mind - if you ask these questions in the presence of staff, you will get responses "supportive" of the program; Because the kid will be far to concerned with the consequences of manipulating, to tell you anything non-supportive of the program.

In fact, this fear can run so deep, and the paranoia be so profound; the trust between parent and child so eroded, that even in private, they may not feel safe confiding to the Program Parent what is going on.

And this is assuming they recognize what they are being made to endure, is abusive thought reform to begin with.

The problem is, these kids are conditioned to believe they deserve this kind of treatment, and that this is what it takes to save them from death or prison.

The parents too, are conditioned to accept treatment and behavior they would never have agreed to, had it been explained up front at the beginning.

Its is a diabolically clever little scam these folks got going.

Program parents - *Please *Please * Please, get yourself a copy of "Help at Any Cost" and Read it!
Do it today.

[out for a cause]

The whole world need to wake up.

WWASP schools are doing damage to our children

If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.
--Thomas Paine

[CCM girl 1989]

You know what I find really strange, is I went to a program called Heritage School located in Provo, Utah. Anyway, they opened in 1985. They are considered a theraputic boarding school.........they have a level and point system. They have hundreds of kids in their program at a time.........why can I not find one website, or any cases or tales of abuse???

Then you have WWASPS, and it's a complete different story..........it's splashed all over the net. Kids are starting groups all over the country to have these places shut down. Newspaper articles are done on them on a regular basis, TV shows, they are in court all the time trying to put out fires.

Sorry, but it just seems so obvious to me that there is something wrong with these programs.

What do you guys think?

[Anonymous]

On 2006-02-24 08:24:00, CCM girl 1989 wrote:

"You know what I find really strange, is I went to a program called Heritage School located in Provo, Utah. Anyway, they opened in 1985. They are considered a theraputic boarding school.........they have a level and point system. They have hundreds of kids in their program at a time.........why can I not find one website, or any cases or tales of abuse???



Then you have WWASPS, and it's a complete different story..........it's splashed all over the net. Kids are starting groups all over the country to have these places shut down. Newspaper articles are done on them on a regular basis, TV shows, they are in court all the time trying to put out fires.



Sorry, but it just seems so obvious to me that there is something wrong with these programs.



What do you guys think?"

I think everyone's jumping on a bandwagon, frankly. Big fat target, so the thinking is, Gee let's shoot this one down and the others will follow.

Good example: CAICA---no experience with WWASPS whatsoever. They actually had a beef with someone else, but when that didn't work, they jumped on the bandwagon about wwasps. They've still never seen any of the wwasps schools.

If you look closely, the many stories out there are mostly repetition of one or two things--very old events that never even stood up in court-- or stories about people writing stories. There's cause for caution here: the number of times something's repeated or told another way is no indication of truth or accuracy.

[out for a cause]

You are sooooooooo! wrong. I'm on the Bandwagon right now getting the word out about the WWASP Schools i just removed my son from CSA.

As a mother to you I say ..........You do not have a clue want you are talking about. Parents take their kids out of WWASP schools everyday and are afraid to tell others how terrible the schools really are.
CHECK THEM OUT

The more BORING a child is, the more the parents,
when showing off the child, receive adulation for
being GOOD PARENTS -- because they have a TAME
CHILD-CREATURE in their house.
--Frank Zappa

[CCM girl 1989]

Well, on a different note...........I believe that Alex has another court date set for today. I'm sure he won't be there! I hope that this judge can do something for him. Like getting him out of Spring Creek Lodge, and into a program that is closer to home.

Since I have been to a WWASPS program, I know exactly what I am talking about. When I tell my story, it doesn't change??? So, it may be on more then one website? It doesn't mean that I am trying to make it sound like it's happened to multiple kids. It only sounds that way because it has, and because there are so many children out there that have had similar experiences.

Whatever, I know that what I am saying is the truth. The WWASPS schools, and the way they are structured, is just wrong. The more I read about how they handle these teens, the more I get upset. Their fault, not mine, and nobody else's. They created the program the way it is, and hired the people they did, and everything was done with them knowing of it, and giving it their approval.

I don't feel sorry for what happens to them. They didn't feel bad enough for me, when my parents were using them to just hold me until I turned 18. They just took the money my parents gave them. They are not as selective as they should be, about the kids they take. It's all about the money, it always has been.

[Anonymous]

How many people sent letters to the judge?
Did anyone send this link?

[Ashley's Mom]

On 2006-02-27 09:04:00, Anonymous wrote:

"How many people sent letters to the judge?

Did anyone send this link?"

I have no idea, but I really wish someone could have sent the Judge "Help At Any Cost", and I hope she reads the letter/letters she received!

[CCM girl 1989]

I did. I sent it out last Sat. 2/18.

[Anonymous]

I sent one too.  Ashley's Mom...look at the Help At Any Cost box at the top of the index page.  It has a link to where you can send someone a copy of the book.  Might be well worth it to send one to the judge.

[CCM girl 1989]

I should be more specific, I sent a letter.