ed con warning

[Anonymous]

I am posting this in the hope that other parents who are looking for help for a struggling teen won't be taken advantage of as we were

After a great deal of checking, we hired Paul Auchterlonie of Advantus Education as an educational consultant. Once the contract was signed and he was paid ($3,000) up front, he became unreachable. His website (Advantus Education) speaks of a staff, but it turns out he is a one-person operation. He did not return phone calls or emails for close to three weeks, at which point we sent him a registered letter declaring the contract void on the basis of his non-compliance, and asking for a full refund.

He emailed that day (no coincidence) with a lot of conflicting excuses. Over the next week we had many email exchanges, but he refused to actually telephone us. The long and short of it is, he refused to issue a refund, and so we have lost three thousand dollars.

I got in touch with a lot of people who he had once worked with, both families and professionals. It turns out that he used to be very respected but in the last year or so he has given up his offices, lost his staff and reputation. However, he's still taking in money.

We are struggling now to help our daughter through a difficult time and can't spare the time to take this to a lawyer, which I would guess is something he counts on. When I have time I will file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. By the way, it turns out that there were multiple complaints filed against him, but under a different business name.

[FLCLcowdude]

Sounds like a typical edcon to me. You see, you can't spell edconsultant with out "Con". They are all just con men.

[Anonymous]

Just think, it could have been worse- you could have actually sent your daughter to a bona fide shitpit.

Oh wait, that's what you're trying to do? Never mind. I hope you meet another scam artist, and that one takes even more.

[Nihilanthic]

I am posting this in the hope that other parents who are looking for help for a struggling teen won't be taken advantage of as we were

After a great deal of checking, we hired Paul Auchterlonie of Advantus Education as an educational consultant. Once the contract was signed and he was paid ($3,000) up front, he became unreachable. His website (Advantus Education) speaks of a staff, but it turns out he is a one-person operation. He did not return phone calls or emails for close to three weeks, at which point we sent him a registered letter declaring the contract void on the basis of his non-compliance, and asking for a full refund.

He emailed that day (no coincidence) with a lot of conflicting excuses. Over the next week we had many email exchanges, but he refused to actually telephone us. The long and short of it is, he refused to issue a refund, and so we have lost three thousand dollars.

I got in touch with a lot of people who he had once worked with, both families and professionals. It turns out that he used to be very respected but in the last year or so he has given up his offices, lost his staff and reputation. However, he's still taking in money.

We are struggling now to help our daughter through a difficult time and can't spare the time to take this to a lawyer, which I would guess is something he counts on. When I have time I will file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. By the way, it turns out that there were multiple complaints filed against him, but under a different business name.

You only lost your money, and not your child.

You should be glad.

[CCM girl 1989]

God, you should've contacted me! I had a Valentine's Day special going on. I would've done it for half that price LOL!!!!

[Anonymous]

God, you should've contacted me! I had a Valentine's Day special going on. I would've done it for half that price LOL!!!!

 :wink:  :wink:  :wink:

[blownawaytheidahoway]

After a great deal of checking, we hired Paul Auchterlonie of Advantus Education as an educational consultant. Once the contract was signed and he was paid ($3,000) up front, he became unreachable. His website (Advantus Education) speaks of a staff, but it turns out he is a one-person operation. He did not return phone calls or emails for close to three weeks, at which point we sent him a registered letter declaring the contract void on the basis of his non-compliance, and asking for a full refund.

He emailed that day (no coincidence) with a lot of conflicting excuses. Over the next week we had many email exchanges, but he refused to actually telephone us. The long and short of it is, he refused to issue a refund, and so we have lost three thousand dollars.

I got in touch with a lot of people who he had once worked with, both families and professionals. It turns out that he used to be very respected but in the last year or so he has given up his offices, lost his staff and reputation. However, he's still taking in money.

FEB 22
Ok. Here a couple of things I absolutely must respond to. Firstly, and most importantly, Are you a Troll? Meaning Are you really here to find out information by asking an related question? Are you extracting information from me, not to learn, but to learn what WE KNOW?
Because:
Paul Aucherlonie (I thought it was Auchterlonie with a 't') was the President of the student body (as was at least one other former student I knew firsthand and suspect to have gone into the Troubled Teen industry also!) when I was a student at RMA/Cedu in Idaho.

Did Paul Auchterlonie (I've just confirmed the speling of his name), Son of Peg and David of Los Angeles and Calabasas, CA respectively, 90036 (Information supplied by RMA in 1990) let you know that he had been a student- graduate of a CEDU school?

I hope things worked our for your child, that is the most important thing, Please recognize that as a CEDU graduate, the person you hired as an independent consultant couldn't have been independent due to his own 'assistance' as a troubled teen?  There is very much more to say, and if you have any questions about further assisting your chid, I won't charge you anything ever! Of course, I'm not an Ed. Con, either, though.
best luck with working it all out with your child, seriously.
-blownaway

[Truth Searcher]

I believe this person is for real.  A very similar post appeared in ST at around the same time (and you know what the advise is going to be over there).  Be nice.  

Dropin~

We did not use an educational consultant.   Only because we didn't know such "professionals" existed.  In hind sight I'm very glad that we didn't for two reasons.

1.)  If you are planning a placement (and I'm certainly not suggesting that you should)   You should do the research, meet the staff, see the facilities and turn every stone over!!   Don't leave such important matters to a perfect stranger ... whose credentials and business practices are unknown to you.

2.)  It wasn't until I spent some time around this forum that I realized that educational consultants not only get lots of green from you the parent ... they also in many cases get "kick backs" from the programs to which they refer your child.  Don't you see something inherently wrong with that?  It's called a conflict of interest.

Before you consider an ed con ... or a long term placement for your child please share your family's story with us.  What has brought you to this place?  There are so many alternatives out there.  I wish someone had pointed them out to me.

I would admonish you not to  relinquish your parental rights to a program.  I did ... and I regret it very much.

Please PM me if you want ... I'll share our experience with you.

Proceed slowly ... and most cautiously.

[Anonymous]

Truth Searcher and blownawaytheidahoway --

Thank you for your thoughtful responses.  A couple points:

We would never, ever send our daughter to any program without checking it out thoroughly ourselves, in person, and also checking multiple references and speaking to students who had been through the program.

I understand there is a certain mindset here that assumes all ed cons are bad. There's really no sense in arguing through that again, is there? Certainly the one we dealt with was dishonest, and I provide that information for those people who may be considering signing a contract with him.

We did talk to families who had used Paul A as a consultant and who were very satisfied with the help they got from him. Apparently his decline was very fast and steep. Which of course means that it's important to check even more closely than we did.

Given the tone of some of the responses here, I am not ready to provide any detailed information about our situation. I will say this: we have a child in serious trouble, one who is a danger to herself. To find the right kind of help for her we will consult and consider every option, from every angle. We won't depend on one person's experience or anecdotes nor are we satisfied with the information from the programs we are considering.  

What works for one situation may be disasterous in another. We are very aware of that. And as far as losing $3K -- we would spend a hundred times that amount to get our daughter back on her feet, without regrets. However. We also know that a cure can't be bought.

We love our daughter and won't be bullied by anyone -- programs, consultants, professionals of any kind, and certainly not anonymous strangers on a discussion board -- into taking (or abandoning) one path or another.

[Deborah]

Lots of name changes. Curious.
So he went to RMA?
 
JONES/AUCHTERLONIE CHANGE NAME
(June 22, 2004) Paul Auchterlonie IECA, Seattle, WA, 206-323-1838, www.appianeducation.com. Also, they hired Amy Aldrich as a new special needs consultant. Aldrich had worked as a therapist at Aspen Ranch some time ago.
 
AUCHTERLONIE STARTS ADVANTUS EDUCATION
(October 19, 2005) Paul Auchterlonie, Ed.M., Managing Director, Advantus Education, LLC, Austin, TX, 1-866-869-5979, announced he has started a new service that evaluates schools and colleges to aid parents and students in assessing, applying to and selecting appropriate options.

[Anonymous]

There's really no sense in arguing through that again, is there?

[troll3]

Now this is a new twist. A troll that slams an ed-con in the process.

Mr. Auchterlonie: If you are in fact really taking parents' money without sending their kids to hellholes, you have my full support and I wish you the best of luck.

On the tiny off chance that the OP is real, get your daughter in here so she can see what kind of idiots are after her. Have her read the CEDU board for a while. How's that for an option?

[Nihilanthic]

Why not try actual, non-quack therapy in the least restrictive environment necessary that actually sees if she has any problems to begin with and treats what is actually wrong while protecting her rights?

[Anonymous]

Why not try actual, non-quack therapy in the least restrictive environment necessary that actually sees if she has any problems to begin with and treats what is actually wrong while protecting her rights?

What makes you assume that we haven't done that? That we haven't been doing that at more since she was eight years old? Why do you assume she hasn't read this website and every other piece of information available through every venue?

Auchterlonie is no longer associated with Yvonne Jones and hasn't been for at least a year. I have no bad experiences with, and have not heard anything but positives about Ms. Jones. I don't know if he went to REM.

You can call me a troll if you like, though I'm not sure what I've done except to state my disinclination to argue a point that has been argued at length already. I think this board does provide a valuable source of information, but like all such sources, not all of it will be reliable.

[hanzomon4]

dropin, In addition to what you're already doing(research, etc) do keep in mind that the parents of abused kids are not all idiots or negligent. The risk you take in forcing someone into treatment is great because the only avenue of escape(from abuse) is through you and most programs cutoff or monitor child/parent contact to deter the child from reporting abuse.

My advice is as follows

• Don't take any action out of desperation
• Remain patient and persistent
• Do not force any kind of treatment on your child

That last one may seem ridiculous to some but your child stands a much better chance at success if she has a say in the treatment she receives.

If it's an emergency that you feel requires immediate care take her to a hospital. Don't let the specialty, emotional growth, wilderness, therapeutic, insert name, schools get a hold of your kid or your attention. They're real smooth talkers that can sucker  geniuses and dummies alike.  Go with what the APA, the US State Department's warning, and the very credible information given by survivors here when looking at treatment options.

Check out Mia's set of 10 good questions
and Also Checkout Margaret Thaler Singer's essay How Thought Reform Works specifically the section detailing the "tactic types" of thought reform as they seem to be the checklist used by abusive programs.

Bad stuff can happen when parents get so desperate that they become willing to help their kids at Any Cost, so beware.

[Nihilanthic]

Why not try actual, non-quack therapy in the least restrictive environment necessary that actually sees if she has any problems to begin with and treats what is actually wrong while protecting her rights?

What makes you assume that we haven't done that? That we haven't been doing that at more since she was eight years old? Why do you assume she hasn't read this website and every other piece of information available through every venue?

Auchterlonie is no longer associated with Yvonne Jones and hasn't been for at least a year. I have no bad experiences with, and have not heard anything but positives about Ms. Jones. I don't know if he went to REM.

You can call me a troll if you like, though I'm not sure what I've done except to state my disinclination to argue a point that has been argued at length already. I think this board does provide a valuable source of information, but like all such sources, not all of it will be reliable.

Lesse...

If real therapy doesn't work why would noneffective detention work?