JustaMom, don't worry about proving who you are to anyone. Some people come here and make stuff up to push programs and that's why some like MGDP get suspicious.
If you don't mind I would like to ask you some questions:
? What issues did your son have that led you to seek out a residential placement?
He had two major depressions by the time he was 14; he was a ?different? and musically gifted child who was bullied. As a defense, he started dressing like a Goth and hanging out with Goths?he had a lot of suicidal ideation. The public high school would not keep him because of his suicidal talk and when he got to the ER, he denied suicidal ideation. It was a mess and I wanted him supervised 24/7 BUT not in a hospital short term because he had long-term problems that he needed time to address. Someone in the posts above suggested a ?regular? boarding school?none would have taken a Goth who talked about the desirability of dying ASAP. He only actually made one weak suicidal gesture, but I take this risk VERY seriously in a teen with major depression.
? What other options had you tried before deciding to go with a placement?
Individual and family therapy from age 7; psychiatrist for meds; elimination of homework and half day school attendance to reduce pressure on him; positive incentives to do well. He was frustrating to community-based therapists because even at age 8, he could ?wait out? a 50 minute session easily. He is the opposite of ADHD?has a high degree of cognitive control and could easily draw adults into power struggles?which he usually won. He was frustratingly non-compliant without ever actually braking many rules when he was younger.
? How did you come across ASR?
I am a professional in the field ?but NOT an employee of ASR or any other residential program?and have many contacts. Therefore, I did not use an educational consultant. Son?s psychiatrist (pdoc) was very specific about the type of program I should seek?reasonably good academic program (because son is neither ADHD nor LD); and ?artsy? rather than athletic type of student; the presence of other kids who have struggled with depression; a structured but not b-mod program with a good talk therapy component; and a ZERO tolerance for violence. I did a lot of reading and on-line research, we visited, interviewed, etc. In the end, I thought ASR was a better match than they did?but it eventually worked out---see below.
? Did anyone at ASR speak with your son or check his mental health history to determine if the program was a fit for him?
ASR consulted with us, interviewed son, and had their pdoc speak directly with his pdoc where we live to try to determine if he was ?too? depressed and/or posed a significant risk of self-harm. ASR was leery of taking him and we were afraid that they would not, but in the end, they agreed to a ?trial? period in base camp.
? Did you ^need to use an escort services, and if so,
We were told by ASR that they did not accept students from escort. They told us if we needed escort, then son needed to go to a wilderness program first. Due to flight restrictions following 9/11, we could not fly with him, so we just told him to get in the van and we drove to MA. There were no problems?he slept most of the way.
o what was the escort services? N/A
o who led you to the service? N/A
o and why did you ^need to us it?N/A
? Did any one warn you not to believe your son if he claimed he was being abused or mistreated?
No, and it was clear to me he was not being abused. As a severely bullied child, I would have known if he were afraid?having witnessed his fear and anxiety for years. He did not LIKE everything about ASR but he clearly was not afraid. If he had even witness abuse, let alone been abused, he would have withdrawn into a nearly catatonic state. As I indicated above, he filed a formal written complaint against a PE teacher for excessive harshness; he would not have done this if he had felt threatened in any way.
? Did anyone warn you that your son would try to manipulate you so that you would pull him from the program?
I was not warned of this but that may be because ASR staff quickly figured out that son?s problems did not stem from our lack of interest, involvement, supervision, or structure. At the end of the first family therapy weekend, son said that although he was annoyed by the rules, he knew he needed to be in a place such as ASR?he said, ? I love you, see you in two months,? turned and walked away. Other students were begging their parents to take them out and promising to ?be good? if the parents did. Son was well aware that we would not give in to that sort of empty promise and so I conclude that ASR did not feel the need to tell us what you have asked about. That does not mean they did not say it to other parents.
? Could you have any uncensored contact with your son?
There were weekly telephone calls by six kids at a time in a room with a counselor. I assumed the counselor was there to make sure the students actually called their parents. I did not feel the role of the staff member was to censor, since no one could possibly keep track of the content of six calls at once and the counselor was NOT on the line?just in the room. Our main problem with the calls is they were initially too short to accomplish anything. I wanted them to be extended and I wanted the counselor to stop telling son how much time he had left because it disrupted his train of thought. I spoke to a supervisor and the calls were not extended until they were extended for everyone, but the counselor stopped telling son?who wears a watch always and could tell time at age 4?how much time was left.
? What was the nature of the "treatment" at ASR?
I do not feel treatment should be in quotes. There was a lot of treatment including group therapy in which son had little to say for 6 months. I do not know that he was ?punished? for this because I had indicated to ASR staff at intake that son?s not talking (when obviously highly verbal in other situations) had been a problem for pervious therapists. I said it would take a long time and great feelings of safety for him to talk in a group. If I have concerns based on what I have read here, it is about the ?Life Steps? which were day long therapy sessions around a specific theme loosely based on Native cultural values. Perhaps because son was interested in philosophy and Native views of the natural world, he did not seem to suffer ill-effects but I am not sure that such intense experiences would be good for all adolescents, particularly if they were not somewhat introspective to begin with.
In terms of individual therapy, son was lucky: I thought some of the ?counselors? were too young and only had Bachelor?s degrees. It was obvious to me that they were getting experience before applying to graduate school. However, son?s primary therapists was an MSW from Smith College and was older than the other counselors. She was excellent comparing very favorably to private therapists in the community?especially because she did not give up on our son?she saw the potential he had to function well as an adult.
The pdoc was the best adolescent psychiatrist I have ever worked with and took a conservative approach to meds?that I appreciated. Also, an issue was whether or not son was bi-polar. ASR was a safe place to trial different medications and bi-polar was ruled out much more quickly than it could have been in an uncontrolled community setting.
? What about the treatment do you feel helped your son with his
problems
The nature of a 24/7 program changes Tx in positive way if it is a good program. Adolescents have many distraction?the internet, music, cell phone, bad companions, etc. and ASR cuts off all access to these distractions. This is helpful to a child who is adept at hiding his feelings and self-distracting when he had negative feelings. In addition, it was helpful to son to realize that other adolescents suffered as he had (he has a very high achieving older sister as did several boys in his peer group) and some had much more difficult problems than he. In addition, after the first 6 months, son worked really hard with the therapy program as did we. I talked weekly with his therapist and frequently (but not weekly) with his pdoc. There is not a lot to do at ASR but school and therapy?for a relatively short amount of time, this can be a good thing IF the adolescent wants to work on internalizing issues. Our son wanted to and did. It comes down to, no matter how good the program, ?you can lead a horse to water, but you can?t make him drink??
? What did ASR say about their program in regards to your son's problems?
Not much at first; they listened and asked a lot of questions, both of us and his pdoc at home. Since almost all problems were internal, there was no ?easy answer? and I would have had no respect for a program staff that spent a couple of hours with my child, who had been in Tx for half his life, and had ?the answer? quickly.
? Did they treat your sons Depression as a behavioral problem or a mental health issue?
A mental health problem with a probable biologic component because he had two non-reactive major depressions prior to age 14. The prognosis in this circumstance is not good which is why I am thankful for every day he is well.
? Did ASR take cutting/suicide attempts seriously or did they dismiss such behavior as manipulation?
This is the account related by others that I find so unbelievable. It was an issue before son was accepted as a student, and at base camp when he began to withdraw completely into himself and have fantasies about dying (but not active attempts), the pdoc went out to base camp and tromped around in 40 degree weather to assess son. His decided that with careful supervision and med adjustment, son was an excellent match for ASR?s program IF the depression could be lifted. I found out later that having the pdoc go to base camp for evaluations was not a common practice and I feel son?s suicidal ideation was taken very, very seriously by everyone: us, the pdoc, AND ASR staff. Any suggestion that his suicidality was not real and a real threat to his life would have resulted in our removing him to an environment in which safety is treated as THE most important thing.
? What type of education did ASR provide?
As I have said, the education was mediocre college prep but since son had been kicked out of one of the top public high schools in the U.S. after 13 days, he wasn?t really taking advantage of education in general in this time of his life. The small class sizes at ASR were helpful; the math teacher was very good?son is interested in math?and was prepared to go on to calculus having three semesters of math at ASR. I think the education probably was OK IF a student was motivated to learn. Son was not. The library was totally inadequate, BTW, but he was not there to do research papers. I think whatever ?loss? compared to a stronger academic program there was, son had 5 semesters of h.s. left when he finished at ASR to regroup. He graduated from h.s. in regular education, on time, and his SATs were fine, so I do not think he was harmed by three semesters at ASR. Would I want this level of education for all 8 semester of h.s.? The answer is no.
? Did ASR use stages or levels, if so, could you explain them in detail?
ASR used peer groups in which a group went through the 14 month program as a unit. If a student had major problems, he/she could be ?dropped? into a peer group behind them, in effect, lengthening the program. This happened to someone in the peer group who son was close to. I believe she used drugs on a home visit. Also, a student from an earlier peer group ?dropped in? to go to Costa Rica. I do not really have an opinion about this practice because son went from being marginal to stay at ASR due to safety issues to a positively progressing student?after about 6 months?so the idea he would be dropped into another peer group never came up?there would have been no reason to discuss it.
Others have talked about the punishments used?however, I would not want 120 adolescents in one place, let alone with problems, without rules and consequences. Son was a bit different because he never broke rules?he just didn?t participate. I have learned on this site that some people feel that self-reflections and self-studies are highly punitive because the student has to remain seated and write in a note book. If a student had ADHD, staying seated might in itself be punitive, but son was a reflective person (when not severely depressed,) and it some ways, writing his thoughts was easier than talking about them. I know he went over his reflection books with his primary on a daily basis when he was on one of these relections. I have read those books and I do not see them as punitive in a negative sense?such as when a student is in time-out?when it?s over, nothing has been gained. I know he gained a great deal from his self-study; it was pivotal; so it was a consequence for something?but it was very productive.
ASR did NOT use points within the levels (Life Steps) which was a major advantage because son had spent many hours figuring out how to defeat the point systems his public schools would devise to try to get him to produce school work. They never worked to help him get anything done?but he was greatly entertained by ?defeating? adults he regarded (with some justification) a hostile to him.
Also, those before the 3rd Life step were ?lower school? and afterwards were ?upper school.? I never exactly understood exactly what each entailed but the general idea was upper school students had more privileges.
? What was the training of the everyday staff?
I don?t know what you mean by everyday staff. See above for comments on training levels of primary counselors. I don?t care what the training of the nonprofessional staff is as long as they undergo thorough background checks and are fingerprinted.
? Is the facility state licensed?
ASR is a specialty boarding school and is accredited as such. Contrary to what others have said, as a private school, it is under the supervision of the Berkshire Community School District. ASR is not JACHO accredited but it should not be; it is not a psychiatric facility.
? Did ASR send "difficult" kids to a more "rigorous" program?
Definitely, and that is a it should be. Not every program is a good match for every adolescent. Had the pdoc found son to be ?too? suicidal to be maintained in an unlocked facility, he would have had to go elsewhere until his meds were effective. I?m glad that didn?t happen but recognize the appropriateness of restaffing students as a way to keep the population and the program capabilities in sync.
The day before our first parent visit, a student in son?s peer group hit another student and then a counselor. He was gone in 3 hours. I was sorry for him?but had ASR not had a ZERO tolerance for hitting others, my son would never have felt safe enough to talk.
? What types of consequences did ASR use and for what behaviors?
In addition to what I put under your level question, ASR used consequences such as washing dishes, weeding the garden, and loss of school store as punishments. Because son was not a minor rule infraction sort, I think he did not receive many of these sorts of punishments. That was his pattern in public school?internalizing problems but no specific rule breaking.
This time, I put the whole thing in a WORD file so I could not lose the answers if this does not work.
still,
JustaMom
