Fornits

Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Troubled Teen Industry => Topic started by: AParent on February 25, 2002, 04:36:00 PM

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: AParent on February 25, 2002, 04:36:00 PM

Does anyone have any information on or experience with the Aspen Achievement Academy in Loa, Utah?

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on February 26, 2002, 12:38:00 AM

It would help if you listed the Parent Company or organization, if any, and the owners or operators or senior staff names.



A good checklist of things to look for can be found at: http://www.nospank.net/beware.htm (http://www.nospank.net/beware.htm)



Basically if it claims to fix your kid, if it denies the usefullness of conventional therapy, or if the usual holiday visits are not permitted it is a bad sign. You should also make sure that you have seen the facility first hand, and request to see every room, not just what they want to show you.

I WARN YOU: No wildnerness program, therepuetic boarding school program, behavior modification program, boot camp, or other alternative therapy has ever been validated in an empirical peer reviewed study, whether for long term or even short term behavioral improvements. They are NOT staffed for, capable of, or designed to treat diagnosed psychological problems, despite their claims to the contrary. Problems like depression, adhd, add, ocd, bipolar disorder, standard teenage angst, and Terets syndrome cannot be treated or "fixed" by these programs and despite the appearance of short term improvements, over the long term these problems will either be made worse or unchanged.
 

DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD FROM ANYONE ON STRUGGLINGTEENS.com because many of the worst programs (more like cults) that have hurt hundreds of kids and destroyed families are listed and recomended there. Mr. Woodbury (the operator of the website) once described a program by saying "the feeling of safety here is almost tangible." About a year later the camp owner/operator was sentenced to 40 years for 121 counts of sexual abuse, fraud, and grand larceny. He has also recomended several other facilities like Alldredge Academy that are on the way to being shut down as we speak, with the owner just recently indicted for felony negligence in the death of a student.

The program supporters on that website's message boards are totally brainwashed. Almost everyone who posts to that board still has their kid in the program and despite their claims they seldom see how their kid is really doing. Looking at the msg board just for wildnerness programs, it is no surprise that almost every parent on that board sent their kid to a long-term program afterwards.  

Among the parent companies that they have supported and still do support are CEDU and WWASP/TeenHelp, easily the most brutal, and cult-like, of the bunch.

Before sending your kid anywhere, I challenge you to examine your motivations first. Often times these programs prey upon parent's desires for a quick fix or wanting to be absolved of responsibility.

"The thing is: sometimes people walk away because they want to be alone, and sometimes they walk away because they want to see if you care enough to follow them into hell."-Babylon 5 Shadow Dancing

[ This Message was edited by: FaceKhan on 2002-02-25 22:02 ]

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: AParent on February 26, 2002, 12:10:00 PM

Many thanks for the informative reply.

The parent company for Aspen Achievement Adademy is Aspen Health Services.  In the infomation packet we received, the program is stated to be accredited by the Council on Accreditation and recognized by JACHO.  It is recognized by the Utah State Dept of Education. Does any of this really mean anything? I have made inquiries to the Dept of Human Services in Utah concerning the progam an am awaiting a response from the licensing agent.

I agree with you.  I do not believe any wilderness program, boarding school, or behavior modification program is a fix for the problems faced by teens.  I have the same concerns and reservations that you do about sending my child to a far off place in hopes of being helped by others.  Will my child be physically/emotionally safe? Will the effects of such a program be beneficial or detremental to his/her emotional well-being? I think of myself as a responsible parent and
want to gather as much information on the various programs before making any decisions.
As a medical professional, I do know I don't have the clinical skills required to help my child through many of the issues she faces, that is why I want to find a program that is best matched for her needs.  She realizes she needs help to build her self-esteem and learn to understand and control her impulsivity that has led her down a path of self-destruction but has not been willing to open up or trust anyone to help her. I want her to see the bright young woman with great potential that she is.

Again thank you for the reply.  I will look into the site you listed. Any other thoughts or information on the subject would greatly be appreciated.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on February 27, 2002, 12:11:00 AM

Based on the information I found the program website. Just going on what I see there, I am prone to be skeptical. It is almost indistinguishable from websites for programs that have been shown to be dangerous.



One good example is the wide variety of problems they claim to treat and what they consider to be an idicator that a teen needs "treatment":

LOW SELF-ESTEEM

LACK OF MOTIVATION

MANIPULATION

DEPRESSION

ACADEMIC UNDERACHIEVEMENT

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

DEFIANCE OF AUTHORITY

ATTENTION DEFICIT AND HYPERACTIVITY



While it is believable on some level that a hike in the woods could help things like low-self esteem, underachievment and lack of motivation, I would be suspicious about claims that it can treat things like Substance abuse (presumably an addiction), ADD/ADHD and depression which are considered by many to be genuine diseases in the United States.  



Disrespect for authority, that sounds like just about every American from 2-102. Children and teens just have more authority figures to dislike. Don't take it personally.



Manipulation is another red flag in my view because often abusive programs will claim that a teen is just being manipulative when they claim that the program is abusive or that they are hungry or that the staff are cruel. Programs often use this as an excuse to censor mail, monitor telephone conversations, and even monitor visits. Another red flag is their "flexible admission period" which means that although the program might claim to be for 30, 60 or 90 days or even 6 months, they may very well manipulate you into keeping your kid with them for 1-3 years or refer you to longer term programs after which they are affiliated with, unbeknownst to you.



Utah regulations for these programs are also very weak, although certainly better than none at all. For instance, the minimum daily calorie requirements in the regulations is 1900 per day (last I checked). Teenagers can require almost twice that, particularly on a strenuous hike through rough terrain.

Another feature of the Utah regs is very little enforcement once a program is licensed because many of the people appointed to oversee enforcement were friendly with the program operators.



They, like many other questionable programs, keep their therapy methods vague and full of various program language. The four phases are very similar to other fraudulent programs. The phases and the description of the phases is in many cases very vague, and even the relatively straight forward activities listed can be interpreted many ways.



The last and most disturbing thing I can see is : "Gives and receives appropriate feedback to/from others. " from the buffalo phase (http://www.aspenacademy.com/buffalo.html (http://www.aspenacademy.com/buffalo.html)). Any straight survivor and especially survivors of the TeenHelp or CEDU cult-programs will tell you that feedback means  berating a person for their failings. It means getting in their face and bringing them to tears and continuing until they feel sick. This is what Straight and many other programs since have meant by "therapy", the healing process, emotional growth.



The entire buffalo phase disturbs me: Things like: Calls groups when conflict arises

Confronts others appropriately. Assists new Coyotes in adjusting to group

Write a letter of responsibility to parents and share in group.



Group Awareness is a term for the cult-like phenomenon that takes place in many abusive programs. It means the breakdown of individual will and the introduction of group-think to that person. By the end of the program the way a person percieves the world is in its relation to the group and not to himself. Breaking a person down involved such things as sharing intimate thoughts, feelings and secrets with the group and often being "confronted" (read: tormented) by the group for them.  "Calling the group when conflict arises" is a nice way of saying that students no longer think for themselves, and they require the group to think for them.

Helping other students adjust is program language for helping to restrain the new students, and organized bullying on selected targets.



No matter how nice the brochure and how wonderful the program sounds, just remember that these programs are expertly marketed and they can and have made a concentration camp, complete with stun-gun weilding guards, in 105 degree Mexican heat with no toilet facilities out to be a beach-side paradise resort with sailboats and tennis courts.




At best these wildnerness programs can be fun and perhaps give a teen the time away from home that can be useful to strengthening themselves as individuals.

But for the bad ones and there are probably far more bad ones than good ones. They range from a fraud/confidence game where money is the motivation to an abusive cult in which parents and teens become unassuming members of the cult often with devastating results for families and especially the teens themselves. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is common among survivors of bad programs


_________________
"You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?" Babylon 5-A Late Delivery from Avalon

[ This Message was edited by: FaceKhan on 2002-02-26 21:23 ]

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: yahamet on March 01, 2002, 10:39:00 AM

AParent,

I applaud you for researching the program before making a decision.  As a parent, physician, and survivor of Straight, Inc., and based on the information in the website about this program, I also am very skeptical.  If you love your child, don't put her in a place that is not equipped to recognize and treat her according to the best medical knowledge we have about substance abuse and psychological or psychiatric disease.  

After almost 20 years, I still suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome, despite appearing very normal to other people.  It has also destroyed any hope for a good relationship with my parents; even my siblings are emotionally scarred from the experience.  And we are the fortunate ones, I guess.  Please keep your daughter in a place that will be safe and not destroy her, a place that will truly help her.  Forced separation of parent and child is not good, and supervised communication cannot be trusted.

Regarding JCAHO accredidation, hospitals spend a lot of time preparing for the big day JCAHO visits, in order to make a great impression.  Once they're gone, they go back to the usual routine.  It's better than nothing, but I wouldn't give it more weight than it is worth.

Best of luck.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: twistdwile on September 27, 2002, 04:19:00 PM

all of your replies are very frustrating and quite funny for the simple fact that you speak on a topic that you know nothing about.  have any of you been to a wilderness program, or better yet worked in one?  if not, please don't speak on a topic that you know nothing about.  if anyone wants Real information on the Aspen Achievement Academy please feel free to ask!

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on September 29, 2002, 12:41:00 AM

Gee we are speaking about a topic we know nothing about kinda like lawyers, businessmen, con-artists and hiking enthusiasts claiming to know about therapy and emotional growth.



Have I ever been to a wilderness program? No

Have I ever worked for one? No.



But I do know a lot of people who are no better off after their $20,000 forced march through the woods than they were going in and quite a few people who had a bad experience with it.



Its a dangerous fad and those who run the programs who claim some special knowledge of how to deal with teens are blowing smoke at best and creating their own cults at worst.





Isn't nice to hear from parents who have yet to send their kids off to some potential hell hole and are asking around about it? That is so much better than reading posts from parents and relatives of the disapeared asking if the program the kid is at is safe after six months of starvation and brainwashing?  
_________________
"You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?" Babylon 5-A Late Delivery from Avalon

[ This Message was edited by: FaceKhan on 2002-09-28 21:50 ]

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: twistdwile on September 29, 2002, 02:53:00 PM

just to humor me what would be your you way of helping these at-risk teens?  tell me what is the difference between wilderness therphy and boot camp?

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Antigen on September 30, 2002, 03:12:00 PM

What would I do? Well, if I had the kind of money at my disposal to send my daughter to one of these places, I might take it and go hike the AT WITH her. With the cash we'd have leftover, I suppose we'd go and pursue whatever interests we may have discussed during the walk.

But I never had that kind of money. So, instead, I just kept the lines of communication open and kept reminding her that, contrary to what her psycho boyfriend kept telling her, we do still love her very deeply and her old friends do too.

The bottom line, though, is that when a kid decides that they'll no longer accept the authority of their parents there's really not a whole lot we can do to control them. You have to let them go sometimes and take their own lumps. What's so hard about that? There are 6 billion of us on this planet with several thousands of years worth of history that do not include Synanon based thought reform. How do you suppose the human race has managed to survive this long without the convenience of paying professionals to rough up our children when they step out of line?

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on September 30, 2002, 09:22:00 PM

Well the question kinda reminds me of when I was 15 and despite having a good time at sleep away camp that year I wanted to come home at the 6 week mark instead of staying the extra 11 days or so till the end. I mainly was not getting along with my buck mates who for whatever reason did not get along with me. Now in retrospect it was probably because I was the one being an asshole considering that I was clinically depressed and my parents were breaking up.



When I called my Dad and told him I wanted to leave early, he was not too happy with it and he did not see why I could not stay for the extra two weeks. The Director got on the phone and said something to the effect of "Dr. Gerber, you can tell a 10 year old he has to stay at camp but not a 15 year old."



So my dad relented and I came home on the 6 week bus.



  When I went home things were fine until 2 weeks into school when I essentially stopped going except on the odd day when my therapist managed to convince me I should go. My parents were desperate to find something to do about it and so was I. I found that school and anxiety over it was the source of many of my problems and that I had always been unhappy and hindered by it. I read a book on unschooling and convinced my parents to let me try it.



I think things turned out a lot better my way than if they had sent me off to thought reform concentration camp.



What would I do if I were a parent of a teen who was getting into trouble. It depends on the trouble I suppose. Thats one problem with these programs they claim to be a panacea.



If my kid had a serious actual drug addiction I would probably try to get them into legitimate minimalist treatment as inobtrusive as possible. But actual drug addiction among juveniles is not that high since their drugs of choice, Marijuana, MDMA, and Hallucinogens are not generally addictive.



More likely you mean behavior problems, well I do not know what I would do. If money were no object I would probably send him or her out on an adventure of their choosing, whether it be roaming through Europe, or climbing everest. 20,000 bucks buys a lot of plane tickets, food, and shopping, I would prefer that my kid spend it rather than some charlatan who makes his money abusing kids.



I asked my parents to go to a therapist as do many teens I have talked to who have been depressed, that is one of the things I think people with depression can count on, you know you have a problem cause you can't think about anything else.



Program supporters always ask us what we would do since we are second guessing them. The problem is that program parents have already shown they do not have the patience to let the kid figure it out on his own. More often than not it is the parents who have the problem. Especially with the Teen Help, CEDU, Mountain Park, parents. Good parents would not surrender custody of their kids to some program that does not let them visit them or call them for 6 months. Obviously they are all too happy to wash their hands of responsibility. They always say the same thing "sending my kid to X was the hardest thing I ever did." kinda like that other lie "this is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you." Its a fantasy they have created in their mind, its actually the easiest thing they ever did, because it absolves them at least in their own mind of the responsibility.



Now if youll excuse me there is a free ice cream party in my dorm.








[ This Message was edited by: Facekhan on 2002-10-02 00:25 ]

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Antigen on October 02, 2002, 10:10:00 AM

http://www.angelfire.com/d20/boardingsc ... ory.html#2 (http://www.angelfire.com/d20/boardingschool4/story.html#2)

Or I suppose I just ran accross it.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Infinity on October 08, 2002, 08:43:00 PM

I don't see why anyone thinks that programs which separate the child from the parent are supposed to solve problems at home.

In all the family problems I've seen and been through, the child was only part of the problem. When my parents threatened to send me to a "boot camp", the problem was only partially mine: I was defiant, stubborn, and refused to accept their authority; but my stepdad also liked to beat me up, and my mom believed whatever he said, whether it was "I'm quitting smoking" (he never did) or "She fell down the stairs".

(Note: I was never sent to any sort of program, thank God. Two of my friends were; they're still recovering.)

Programs which separate parents and children either work only because they've brainwashed the child, or because the child never had a problem in the first place. Most of the time, I doubt they do anything but terrorizing an innocent teen.

And, even if that person were fully "cured", when they come back home, what happens? The parents, the environment, their friends, have not changed. Only part of the problem has been taken care of.

Abusive programs often play on the parent's need to be "right"; to say, "I didn't do anything wrong, he's just a bad kid and needs to be straightened out". Sometimes the problem (if there is one) really is due to the kid's choices, but in the majority of the time, the problem is at least partially the parents' fault.

Solution? Treat the whole family. If they want to take you out in the wilderness, fine; but they'd better take your parents, too. If they're running a boarding school, parents had better get visits whenever they want them. Or, better yet, stay at home and go to counseling/outpatient drug programs.

Oh, I know a lot of people want to take the easy way out--if the kid goes to a program, they no longer have to deal with him, and they can say it's not their fault he's "troubled". But look at it this way: Is it worth it, just for convenience, to send someone to a place which may scar them for life? I don't think so.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on December 03, 2002, 03:48:00 PM

i went to aspen achievement academy this summer and its a great program i reccomend it for teens.  you hate it at first but now that im home i want to go back and work there. i made so many great friends and we still keep in touch its a great program!!!!!

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on December 03, 2002, 11:08:00 PM

I hate to break it to you but that is what a lot of people say post wildnerness program. It may be a nice adventure and a vacation from your fucked up parents but it is still a $5000 (at most) camping trip claiming to be therapy for $20,000 a kid.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: twistdwile on February 07, 2003, 04:53:00 AM

wow!  i really like the fact that you are still slamming a company, program and a proven treatment program without any knowledge of what really gopes on in this program.  i will tell you that my program works for the majority of the students that come through.   so once again please do no speak on a topic or about a company that you have never experienced, worked, or been apart of.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Antigen on February 07, 2003, 03:26:00 PM

Proven? Show me the proof. Anectdotes won't do, either. I want to see a peer reviewed long-term outcome study that follows clients for at least five years and that shows the rate of suicides and other psyche casualties along side the glowing testimonials.

From the bottom of any large organization looking up through the ranks, human greed and stupidity look a lot like a conspiracy.
--S. Gilbert

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on February 08, 2003, 05:51:00 PM

Proven? Ill tell you one thing that has been proven, where there is a messed up kid, there are almost always messed up parents.

Long term peer reviewed studies are difficult to come by on this industry. Many private wildnerness programs are feeders for more abusive long term lockups so no controlled study is possible. In addition there is no set criteria for admission and no demonstratable illness whether physical or psychological or addiction to a particular drug that is common among inmates to even begin to guage effectiveness. Kids in these programs range from having to go to avoid jail, needing drug treatment, having been abused in the home, going willingly thinking it is a teen camping trip, to just being a healthy teenager who does not get along with parents or stepparents.  They will take any kid whose parents have the money to send them.

Even evidence that the program was effective could just be an anomaly because they do not take hard cases. They may only take kids with minor or no problems at all.

If a hospital declares that it has a 99% rate of success on all its cases, that is meaningless because 99% of its cases could be little more than a scraped knee or a broken finger and that says nothing about the success rate for its high risk operations.

 The only one I have ever heard of is related to Vision Quest operated programs used on juvenile offenders in California over a decade or so in the late 70s' and 80's.

The study found no significant difference in the longterm recidivism rates of those in juvenile prisons and those in vision quest.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: twistdwile on February 09, 2003, 03:05:00 AM

http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/rrt/keith_russell.htm (http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/rrt/keith_russell.htm)
http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/wrc/Publicati ... ations.htm (http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/wrc/Publications/publications.htm)


have a ball!!!

it wont make a difference if you go in with a closed mind.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: twistdwile on February 09, 2003, 03:10:00 AM

where in md are you from?

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on February 09, 2003, 03:21:00 AM

The author of that study is not exactly an independent observer as noted below I clipped off his CV. In addition their is no control group in the study I read and the sample is extremely small. Just 3 kids each from 4 programs. It is far too self-reporting there is no static criteria indicating the reason for admission except as "reported" by the student at the end of the program. Basically the most that can be garnered from this is that upon leaving the program at least handful out of the 12 total clients that he chose to quote thought the program helped them. There is no raw data shown as is customary in scientific studies and the data he chooses to make available has been "selected" as examples even though including the full text of all the client responses to his questions would not take up much space since there were only 12 of them.  Obviously this wreaks of selective reporting of his data.

Whew one study debunked a few more to go. Peer reviewed or not this guy has a phd in being a wildnerness guru essentially so it is not like he is gonna be able to be objective on the benefits and problems of something he loves to do.
   


Extension and Service :
Reviewer, Journal of Leisure Research, Special Issue: Effects of Adventure programming. Peer reviewer of articles for journal on issues associated with adventure education. (Spring 2002)

Member, Committee on State Licensing Standards for Outdoor Treatment Programs, States of Idaho and Oregon. Served on committee with state agencies and private practitioners to develop standards for the licensing of outdoor programs for the treatment of children and
adolescents. (2000-Present).

Reviewer, International Journal of Wilderness. Serve as a peer reviewer of articles for international journal on issues associated with wilderness management. (Spring 1999-present)

Board of Directors Secretary/Treasurer, Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute. A non-profit organization aimed at watershed restoration, regional transportation planning, and alternative food
systems. Duties include attending board meetings, participating in community workshops, and attending local meetings. (1999-Present)

Research Associate and Member, Outdoor Behavior Healthcare Industry Council (OBHIC). Duties include attending quarterly meetings, policy analysis, and development of research instruments for industry representatives. (1998-Present)

Membership in Professional and Scholarly Organizations:
Outdoor Behavior Healthcare Industry Council, 1997-Present, Director of Research, 1998-Present
National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, 1999-Present
National Association of Therapeutic Wilderness Camps, 1999-Present
Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group, 1999-Present
Association of Experiential Education, 1994-Present
Host Committee for International Conference, 1996
International Society of Ecological Economics, 1994-Present
Ecological Society America, 1995-Present
American Whitewater Association, 1995-Present
Idaho Rivers United, 1994-Present

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on February 09, 2003, 03:29:00 AM

As if I would be telling you or posting my location on this board at all. I don't want some CEDU nut job burning my mailbox or breaking my windows in the middle of the night.

Call me paranoid but even if I thought you were trustworthy with that data (and I don't know you that well to even judge that so don't take too much offense)

I would definitely not be posting my personal details on this board. There are a lot of whackos in this industry and many programs are just plain old abusive cults.  

 So for those who care.


I happen to be in a hardened bunker somewhere in Wyoming under about 5 feet of snow with no less than 136 independent reentry vehicles armed with thermonuclear warheads. If you want to visit be sure to call ahead because the guy at the door usually has an assualt rifle and tends to drink on the job.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Antigen on February 09, 2003, 01:27:00 PM

How rediculous! All of the 'peers' are members of the organizations under study. All of the clients are self selected and self reporting. And, as Face notes, there is no control group.

It amazes me that presumably responsible, educated adults accept this tripe as anything like a serious scientific study.

Tough Love: Abuse of a type particularly enjoyable to the abuser, in that it combines the pleasures of sadism with those of self-righteousness. Commonly employed and widely admired in 12-step groups.
--Chaz Bufe

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: AParent on February 11, 2003, 01:27:00 PM

It has been almost a year since my first posting requesting info.  I must tell you after many hours of research and a site visit, we decided not to send our daughter to a wilderness camp.  Yes, we rejected the recommendation of her counselor and physician and I must say, we made the right choice.  We chose instead to move with her to a safe environment.  We have also stopped the sessions with the psycologist.  In her case, we felt much of her behavior was due to the torment of a sexual predator and inappropriate peer pressure at school and in the therapy sessions. It was also due to a lack of connection with family, both immediate and distant.

Today, our daughter is a happy, healthy and responsible young adult.  She has managaed to get back on track at school, maintaining a 4.0 even with honors classes and a part-time tutoring job. Acceptance to a good college is once again important to her.  Family time is also now an important part of her life. Her self-esteem and confidence have improved significantly.  Accomplishment with hard work has replaced the sense of entitlement she once exhibited.

Our daughter now realizes life will be disappointing and difficult at times and that's ok.  Life is about choices.  Making good ones will yield good results.  She also knows that no matter what, we will also love her and be here to help her through her struggles.  We will never give up on or abandon her. We will always share in her joyous moments and in her times of sorrow not just because we are her parents, but because we love and care about her as a wonderful human being who has many great things to offer the world.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: twistdwile on February 11, 2003, 01:54:00 PM

congrats, on your daughter progress and the dedication and involvement of your family.  i wish that alot of the parents of my students were as involved and dedicated as yours was.  i wish all the best of luck to your family.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on February 11, 2003, 03:03:00 PM

When you recall that program promoters literally tell you that she would be dead/in jail if she did not get into one of their programs immediately it puts things in perspective when things get better with a minimum of, (what is that program word again?) "intervention" and without dropping 20 thousand on a 2 month forced hike in the mountains or 200 thousand on a 3 year "intervention" in a tropical prison camp.

 :grin: I love being right.  Good luck to your family. Its nice to hear back from people with good news for us.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on February 11, 2003, 05:13:00 PM

Aspen achievement academy saved my life and i love it and i wanna work there!!!  i miss it so much if anyone has info on qualifications to work there please post them thank you

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on February 12, 2003, 03:01:00 AM

Maybe you want to work there because you have a difficult time living in reality outside of aspen.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on February 25, 2003, 03:53:00 PM

ive lived outside of aspen alot longer than i was there i have no problem living outside of aspen.
so if anyone know the qualifications to work there or if anyone has or does work there or has gone there post somthing

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: twistdwile on February 25, 2003, 11:04:00 PM

hey i live here and curently work there.  can't wait to go to work.  what would you like to know and i will get back with you next week.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on February 26, 2003, 12:34:00 PM

i just want to know like how old u have to be to work there and if u have to have a degree in anything. how long have u worked there??? maybe u were one of my staff people i went there last summer on may 25 my name is laura.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on February 26, 2003, 02:06:00 PM

My friend who had been sent to Alldredge also briefly indicated he wanted to work there. I think in the case of wildnerness programs, it has more to do with not knowing what you want to do than being dependent on the program. The wildnerness programs become their idea of a fun, job where something important is done. And of course, since they are not legitimate treatment, they can hire anyone, in fact they often prefer to hire former clients since they don't need to train them to ignore abuse, or violations of regs since they already know the game.

Its only a crutch in the sense, that going back to the program is so much easier than going to college or getting a real job.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: twistdwile on February 26, 2003, 10:52:00 PM

hey laura, the only requirements that i know of is that you need to be 19 years old with 1 year outside the program.  or 1 year of soberity.  you would need to apply to the program and then go through training.  my best advice for you is to make sure that you have a descent handle on your own issues so that you may help others.  

i was here in the summer and i am sorry that i was not your instructor, how ever i did work with one student named laura for 3 days as add support.  one question did you run from the group with 2 other girls?  

you know i just got the opportunity to see one of my students graduate from the program who Stated that if it were for this program then he would be dead.  he said that he owes alot to this program for opening his eyes to his issues and creating a better relationship with his parents.  he is going on to a better envirorment to finish school, learn how to live on his own, get more help with his drug abuse problem, and then go on to college.  before coming here, he wanted none of anything.  no future of goals in life.  he says that he now has something to look for.  Face, jsut seeing that makes this job all woth it.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: tommyfromhyde1 on February 26, 2003, 11:17:00 PM

Of cource he said he'd be dead without the
program, darling. If he says anything else his
folks are going to cut him off.

Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following
pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them
general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong,
gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises
at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom.  But the
tumult soon subsides.  Time makes more converts than reason.
Thomas Paine, Common Sense

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on February 27, 2003, 11:59:00 AM

yeah i ran away when i was there ALOT only made it to bicknell once though.  I am going to college next year in chicago and hopefully after college i will still want to work at aspen. if u know barry and kate and nick tell them hi!!!
i made this poem at aspen for a curricilum and i finished when i got home please read:
I hate aspen trees
i hate all the bugs and bees
i hate it when u make me speak
i also hate counting when i take a leak
i hate smelling like a nasty skunk
i guess thats what i get for being a punk
me ivana and kara got sick of pushing carts around
so we decided to take a little trip into town
this is the dirtiest water ive ever seen
i forget what it feels like to be clean
im so sick of making this poem
since i did can i please go home
now that im home i wanna go back
to live in the woods and make my survival pack
to not cook in a stove but over a fire
to have no electricty not even a wire
i miss aspen so much it makes me sob
when i grow up i hope you can offer me a job!!!

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: FaceKhan on February 27, 2003, 08:43:00 PM

Well you would not be the first person to prefer the woods to their homelife.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on March 08, 2003, 04:52:00 PM

I've for years told my mom how destructive the TWO thought reform centers she sent me to were. She always says, "What was I supposed to do?" My responce has always been, "Why not love me enough to raise me yourself?"

Twistdwile, you disgust me.

 I agree with Ginger 100%. COMMUNICATION is the only way to be a good parent. There is no expiration date for parenting. I have a 12 year old daughter, who knows she can tell me anything a.k.a. she trusts me, and knows I love her. I was online yesterday looking at Sunhawk Academy,(not because I wanted to send her away), after filling out their questionaire on-line, I was reffered to a list of options for placement of her. According to the answers I gave (which were honest), my daughter qualified! So I called, asking about legal rights of the child, still maintaining that I was looking into their program. Then came the Red Flags..."You as a parent have to trust us, the program will not work without your trust, and children have many different manipulation tactics," blah, blah. This woman's name was Stacy Bradley. Okay, thank you very much but no thanks. Wilderness resedential therapy or Boot-camp, same thing, I was in one for 18 months, and then in Straight inc another almost 2 years. They chewed me up and spit me out! Salesmanship club, Sunhawk, same difference. Handing your kid over for someone else to fix is NEGLECT!!! Especially when these places are not hospitals, with real Med. professionals, but instead, greedy, moral-absent con-artists with education degrees! Education of: How to run a child consentration camp! Qualifications matter. I'm shocked at people's ignorance. My daughter is a well adjusted, bright, beautiful little girl, and I give myself some credit, I am raising her, I am an authoritative parent. Life has its ups and downs, but LOVE rules. Neglect is the opposite of love and screams irresponsability!

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: ehm on March 08, 2003, 04:55:00 PM

That, "Addressing Twistdwile" is from me.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Britt15 on March 10, 2003, 07:13:00 PM

If there are any students or anyone at all that has any information on the family foundation school in hancock, new york please please email me back
thank you so much!
Britt

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: twistdwile on March 12, 2003, 10:42:00 AM

so why is it that i disgust you?????  i am really interested to hear why.

congrates to goping to college and i wish you all the best in what ever path you decide to take in life.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: ehm on March 12, 2003, 11:23:00 AM

What are your credentials?

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: ehm on March 12, 2003, 11:31:00 AM

On 2003-02-26 19:52:00, twistdwile wrote: " the only requirements that i know of is that you need to be 19 years old with 1 year outside the program.  or 1 year of soberity.  you would need to apply to the program and then go through training.  my best advice for you is to make sure that you have a descent handle on your own issues so that you may help others."

Nice. Sounds like a cult.
That's why you disgust me.

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on March 31, 2003, 03:32:00 PM

Aspen Achievement Academy

I have a dear little friend who has just been placed in the AAA.  Can you tell me more about it?
Is is run by Mormans?

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on March 31, 2003, 04:08:00 PM

What are the details of your "little friends" placement?
What is your relation?

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on May 25, 2003, 09:00:00 PM

aspen achievement academy rocks i love it so much and i cant wait to go back there to work some day!!! its been exactly one year since i was sent there may 25  so its national aspen day!!!!!! best day of my life!!!!

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on January 07, 2004, 12:46:00 PM

anybody have any information on aspen achievment academy based in loa utah any former students that i can hear their stories about this wilderness program please reply

Title: Aspen Achievement Academy
Post by: Anonymous on August 17, 2004, 03:03:00 PM

Aspen Health Services is the same as Aspen Youth Services aka Aspen Education Group. Can't be specific but just heard very bad AAA story and wouldn't send my kid there. Also heard good story. Bad outweighs the good in my mind.