ASR

[nalex18]

So tell us about typical consquences?

Doing dishes
Losing school store
Losing movie night
Losing right to go off campus (which had to be earned in a specific fashion anyway)
work projects (forced labor, such as scrubbing floors, shoveling snow, clearing brush, etc)
being put on "bans"
for people on "challenges" or "self studies" you had to spend all your free time at a table facing the wall doing writing assignments. This included during meals.
Self studies had to stand during all meetings
For those who did extremely bad things (had sex, did a lot of drugs on home visit, were not "improving") you could be dropped peer groups, which added months to your stay.

At base camp consequences were physical, such as being forced to do push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, etc.

[nalex18]

what would happen to a kid who did not want to talk during group therapy?
Did they still use Bans to prevent some kids from forming friendships?

Did any kid ever refuse to send the letter home outlining their sins?

1) If someone refused to talk in group they would often be placed on a Reflection, the lightest of the consequences. You would receive a folder with a "truth list" and writing assignments to do things like "Why I feel I don't have to talk in group".

2) Bans were used to prohibit relationships being formed that the school thought to be "unhealthy". Bans included simply looking at another person. Bans could span from one person, one sex, a portion of the school (ie lower school), or the entire school.

3) I'm sure that some did, however you could not move forward in the program without doing so, so I think that most kids gave in and did it.

Sorry, forgot the last. I believe your counselors approved level changes, you had to be in a certain stage of the program to move on. Some people never made it to the highest level, which allowed you to stay up til 11 and watch approved TV in the great room after everyone else had to go to sleep. It basically meant that you were "trusted"

[nalex18]

Oh yeah watchin' TV till 11 you in the big time now!

1) What are peer groups?

2) Did anyone ever loose the right to their phone calls?

3) Was mail screened?

1) Peer groups were a group of about 15 kids who you went through the entire program with, from base camp to costa rica. You had group therapy together, sat together during all meetings and did "life steps" together.

2) I don't know if anyone ever got their phone call completely taken away. I got my right to "private" phone calls (a counselor was always in the room monitoring anyway) taken away. I had to have conference calls for a few weeks.

3) All mail was screened. Only approved friends could write, and they could only begin sending you mail after you were pretty far into the program. All mail was opened, read and searched.If a counselor thought something was innapropriate you did't get the mail.

[nalex18]

ASR runs on an entirely different principle than I am familiar with. Or it is just the differences in terminology.

1) How prevalent was lying in group? By this I mean making up stuff to just get ahead and bluff your way out of the program?

2) Who facilitated your group sessions?

3) How often did you visit a licensed psychologist or mental therapist of any sort?

I am not sure if it is entirely different from what you know.

1) I think everyone to some extent lied to get out of the program. Some people went through the program having done drugs, had sex, etc but would never admit to it and were never caught. You learned to be compliant and really just to say whatever they wanted you to.

2) Two counselors (either your assigned peer group counselors or, when in mixed group, other peer group's counselors). If someone was in a lot of trouble they would bring in the "big guns", I forget their titles but I think some where directors.

3) I saw a psychologist about every 2 weeks or so. Summaries of these sessions where sent to parents. Some things I NEVER would have wanted my parents to know or hear about were included in these reports.

[Anonymous]

As the parent of a recent graduate, I can answer most of your questions.

As for meds, they were prescribed by a licensed psychiatrist (they have 2). My son determined what he wanted to take and opted to discontinue his ADD meds (samller classes, he didn't feel the need) and antidepressant that he came in on.

HE chose to try a med to help manage his anger better and address his depression, which he was monitored carefully on. We are in the medical field and were updated on what ,meds were started and stopped (per our son's decision).

There are full-time RN's and LPN from 7am-10pm who dole out meds (and address any other medical issues). Our son was taken into town if he had anything that couldn't be handled there.

Med use in our case was decided by our son (as it would be in our state after age 14). Kids were not forced to take meds and I can't speak for others directly, but I think it was a joint decision between the kids,parents and psychiatrist on staff as to recommendations.
We did not feel the need to get overly involved in those decisions.
His mental health issues responded better to the therapy than meds. Meds (and therapy) here at home did nothing before ASR.

[nalex18]

1) What was the ASR policy on med administration?

2) Who doled out the drugs?

3)  Did ASR have a policy regarding the reduction of meds during the program?

4) Would you say med usage went up or down in general in your experience?

RNs handed out medications and if they were not available (as when you were in Costa Rica or base camp) a counselor handed them out.

**** However, I do know for a fact that some nurses allowed students who were helping around the med office to pour meds, which is illegal****

I don't think that they had a policy, per se, but kids I knew who wanted to go off their medicine often had a difficult time doing so. I know someone who cheeked their meds and threw them away so they didn't have to take them.

I was put on several different medications while at ASR. More than I can remember. I can also tell you that I was put well above recommended dose by my doctor. He obtained some sort of go ahead from the drug company. I was told by my current med dr. that  the dose he had me on had no therapeutic value

[nalex18]

Just a note about the off campus medical care:

While I was there I had braces and my mom told the orthodontist specifically to maintain my teeth, not to try to move them.

Well, he went ahead and decided to mess around with my braces and I ended up with more problems when I got home. ( a gap between my front teeth, etc)

I personally had no problem with the dentist but one kid had some back teeth filed down to tiny nubs. I don't know what the purpose of it was, I'm sure his parents weren't happy though.

[Anonymous]

I don't know when Nalex was at ASR, but there hasn't been a base camp for quite a while (before my son even entered the school). Also ASR no longer does Costa Rica (and hasn't since last Jan).

The system that is used for meds is a unit dose system that is prepacked in individual doses (like in the hospitals) and is prepared off campus by a pharmacy company.

Kids have "cheeked meds", usually Adderall to snort later. This happens at every facility ocassionally. As for over-medicating, we actually had the opposite experience. The psychiatrist was overly cautious, raised doses slowly, and in our case I felt the dose was subtherapeutic.

The living quarters were actually like a college dorm. In fact, each room had their own bathroom in the room. We looked at several TBS's and ASR had nice rooms (the other schools were more like camp cabins).

ASR was also the only school that had central air, in the dorms, dining room and the academic building.

ASR hired a food service (that cooks for other facilities) and the food is pretty good. In addition to the menu, there is usually a salad bar and deli bar. Drinks are available 24/7 at dispensers like the fast foods. My son ate much heathier at school than at home.
On weekends they could get soda and candy with the school store money ($2/week).

The kids used to do their own laundrey, but as of spring ASR hired a laundry service, and kids no longer do laundry.

Housekeeping in the dorms and common areas are done by the students.
Gardeners mow the lawn and tend the grounds.

Students do work in the kitchen (dishes...) as a negative consequence. My son actually prefered the chores than having to write "reflection" assignments when he broke rules.

If one didn't know that it was a therapeutic boarding school, the physical facility looked like a regular campus. No gates, fences...

I am not meaning to sound like a brochure for a hotel I am just answering the questions posted. I can only compare it to the other programs (out west) that we looked at.

[nalex18]

I don't know when Nalex was at ASR, but there hasn't been a base camp for quite a while (before my son even entered the school). Also ASR no longer does Costa Rica (and hasn't since last Jan).

The system that is used for meds is a unit dose system that is prepacked in individual doses (like in the hospitals) and is prepared off campus by a pharmacy company.

Kids have "cheeked meds", usually Adderall to snort later. This happens at every facility ocassionally. As for over-medicating, we actually had the opposite experience. The psychiatrist was overly cautious, raised doses slowly, and in our case I felt the dose was subtherapeutic.

The living quarters were actually like a college dorm. In fact, each room had their own bathroom in the room. We looked at several TBS's and ASR had nice rooms (the other schools were more like camp cabins).

ASR was also the only school that had central air, in the dorms, dining room and the academic building.

ASR hired a food service (that cooks for other facilities) and the food is pretty good. In addition to the menu, there is usually a salad bar and deli bar. Drinks are available 24/7 at dispensers like the fast foods. My son ate much heathier at school than at home.
On weekends they could get soda and candy with the school store money ($2/week).

The kids used to do their own laundrey, but as of spring ASR hired a laundry service, and kids no longer do laundry.

Housekeeping in the dorms and common areas are done by the students.
Gardeners mow the lawn and tend the grounds.

Students do work in the kitchen (dishes...) as a negative consequence. My son actually prefered the chores than having to write "reflection" assignments when he broke rules.

If one didn't know that it was a therapeutic boarding school, the physical facility looked like a regular campus. No gates, fences...

I am not meaning to sound like a brochure for a hotel I am just answering the questions posted. I can only compare it to the other programs (out west) that we looked at.

I went there over 3 years ago, I'm glad to see that so much had changed.

[nalex18]

Let's discuss Living arrangements today:

1) What were the living quarters like?

2) Where they adequetely protected from cold and heat?

3) Food what was the quality of the food served?

4) Who cooked the food, maintained the facility, and did the run of the mill house keeping/gardening chores?

When I was there

.... The girls were switched into new dorms, while the guys continued to live in the old ski lodge rooms. The rooms were pretty comfortable. In the lodge rooms we had control over our own heat and air. Lodge rooms also had their own bathrooms, while the new girl's dorms had 1 (2 showers and a toilet) bathroom for about every about every 7-10 girls.

The food was... disgusting and I doubt nutritionally sound. Everyone pretty much lived off of dessert.

Kitchen staff cooked food. Kids did everything else as far as chores. ASR must have saved thousands on janitorial staff

[Anonymous]

gookie  you don't know what you are talking about so shut your stupid face up for a change.

[Deborah]

ah oh gookie. someone's got a crush on ya.  ::heart::

[Anonymous]

I don't know when Nalex was at ASR, but there hasn't been a base camp for quite a while (before my son even entered the school). Also ASR no longer does Costa Rica (and hasn't since last Jan).
.

When I read What it takes to pull me through the only thing that seemed to be of any merit was the Costa Rica trip. Of course i dont know if it was sugarcoated. it struck me that the parents could have saved their dosh and sent their kids on a cultural exchange and a habitat 4 humanity programme. Why did they give this up? it is not like 80000 is too paltry. What are they spending the money on instead? Proper doctors and teachers?
Oz girl

[nalex18]

Despite the superficial changes I doubt the more important things have been altered at all. It remains all to easy to polish up a few odds and ends and passing them off as reputable change.

Keep posting Nalex. Your experiences as a witness from the perspective of a student is far to important to not be heard.

When my peer group got together a couple years ago we went to back. They were obviously going through a transitional stage. It was a lot different. Little things like the clothes kids were able to wear. The thing was that it seemed like a ghost town. None of the kids really wanted to talk to us. When I was there whenever there were visitors people usually always talked to them. Also A LOT of the staff had left, basically all the higher ups that were there when I was were gone.

It really wasn't enjoyable to go back. It sounds stupid but I was scared someone was going to shut and lock the door behind us. I also felt terrible talking to the kids and sugarcoating the program. I really just wanted to tell them to hang in there.

I am thankful that ASR was not like Tranquility Bay or any other of those terrible programs. Still, ASR was no walk in the park and some things that went on should never have been allowed.

[Anonymous]

Dear guest parent while I find your answers endearing I tend to defer to the actual experiences of a program graduate.

Nalex never said he saw any changes during his visit. He just said he was happy to hear that they changed.

ASR doesn't need to be like Tranquility Bay to still be a facility that deserves being razed to the earth and sown with salt. That in itself is an invalid comparison due to the fact that abuse is abuse no matter how severe. As a society can we really afford to say, "Well the kids do need help, and gee whiz, ASR isn't as bad as Tranquility Bay so it must be ok."

Nalex please go ahead and keep on answering. You are providing a first hand insight to the program that obviously is starting to make the guest parent uncomfortable.

My questions asked previously still stand.