Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group
ASR
Anonymous:
Not that it matters, but I really am the parent of a son who recently graduated from ASR. I believe that Justamom is as well. We can only speak of our experiences with the school.
I find it hard to believe that employees go onto this site and pose as parents. For what purpose? To attract parents? Unfortunately, there isn't a shortage of kids that are placed there for them to need to do that.
My purpose on this site was to give first-hand information on the program as it is now (which I did earlier in this thread with TSW and Nalex). Not every program scars every kid for life. Some can actually help them get their lives back on track. Whether they would have on their own, with time as they matured can't be answered. It would be great to have a study for that purpose.
TheWho:
--- Quote from: ""JustaMom"" ---My son was at ASR when base camp existed (he hated it) and he really changed a lot in Costa Rica (he apparently loved it.) He has written many essays (in others schools--he was only 15 when he left ASR) and I can think of no reason he would "lie" subsequently. He loved CR. I can certainly agree that giving the party line back could be a serious problem if groups were as coercive as described but that my son was still writing about CR in college admission essays seems uncoerced to me.
My son kept all his written work--even the self study which I guess was a severe punishment, although he did not describe it as such at the time. However, reading it (with him) years later, he explained his thought processes and it seems that he gained from putting his thoughts into writing. If he had to sit that would have been fine with him--standing at a meeting would not have been. However, the content of the self-study really seems to be the point and it is self-evidently valuable to him and to me, sharing it later.
I agree te education was mediocre but since my son did not like school anyway, I don't think there was a lot lost in 14 months. He did better in school upon returning home, so I think his increased motivation for living allowed him to catch up whatever was poorly taught (or not taught) at ASR. His SAT scores were fine but maybe they would have been anyway with or without ASR.
Currently my son is 19 and a student in NYC. He is in contact with several members of his peer group and most are doing OK--the exceptions seem to be those with heavy drug problems when they entered. That was not a problem for my son but I wondered when he was there if those students who were clearly addicted to drugs were well served in the program at ASR.
I think program match is important. I did not use an educational consultant. I wanted a program that was structured but not strict b-mod, had no sports teams and had an "artsy" student population where violence was not tolerated. The day before our first family resolution, a member of the peer group was kicked out for hitting someone. Although I was sorry for that boy, I was very glad my son was in a program where that would happen; if my son had felt bullied, he never would have opened his mouth.
While he was there, my son filed a complaint in writing against the PE teacher because he thought he was too much like a drill sergeant. This complaint was treated seriously and the PE teacher left. My son was depressed and rather shy (but very compassionate) so it is hard for me to reconcile what I am reading with him filing a complaint. If he had felt unsafe, he would not have done that.
Finally, I thought the consulting psychiatrist's approach to medication was cautious (which is good) and far better than we had experienced in the community--where meds are thrown around too freely IMO. Like another parent, my son had a say in his meds--mainly trying to find one that would lift the depression with the fewest side effects.
In short, I know no program is above criticism but getting away from the public school bullies (and then finishing h.s. at a private day school) gave my son the break he needed to get some perspective that adulthood could work for him if he could survive childhood.
As far as the person who said parents were not supposed to come to the weekends?? Every parent of the kids in the peer group was there including divorced parents who were not otherwise speaking. One child's parent could not go the CR and she appeared unhappy about that. Every other family had one or both parents in CR.
I was directed to this site by someone who is very confused about what to do for her son--she has exhausted local options and she fears the looming drug exposure in high school (with justification I think.) She knows me and my son well. She knows that I didn't just want to get rid of him for a while--and she can see how he has changed from a highly problematic young teen into a functional young adult. I am interested in whether ASR positively contributed to that change--or as someone stated, he "just grew up." Some of each is possible--but I fear that at home with the bullies, the huge high school, and the potential for serious drug use, and suicidality, he would not have survived to grow up.
Just a Mom
--- End quote ---
Thanks Just-a-mom for taking the time to share your story. Your account will probably be treated with disbelief, by many, because your story doesn?t depict a negative experience but there are parents who come here to read and its nice to hear from both sides.
I believe in my daughters case ASR provided a safe place for her to grow and as a result she matured very quickly during her 15-16 months there. It was a combination of both in her case.
Anonymous:
What is a troll?
I was directed to this site and I am really sorry that some of you seem to have had such negative experiences. I wonder what you would have been like left to fend for yourself in a high school with 5000 students?
I do not agree that psych hospitals are a good option--they release kids in 36 hours and the kids get so savy that they do really dangerous things and then deny suicidal intent in the ER. I really did not want my (immature) 14 year old to learn all of this--and he didn't. He lasted in high school for 13 days. He left ASR with 5 semesters of h.s. left so then he researched the type of day school he wanted (we live in a large metro area with many private options.) He picked a high school that was good for him and he graduated on time.
I am happy that he is happy. I think that 4 years is plenty of time for him to get over his "brainwahing" or whatever you think he currently is like. I insisted he take a maintence dosage of anitdepressants until he was 18. At that time, he tapered off-against medical advice, but I supported his decision. We have an agreement that if he feels the "darkness" coming again, he will go back on meds. He has told me he never wants to feel again as he did at 14. I believe him.
ASR was a good choice for him and because he was 14, I made that decision for him. Maybe I would have made another choice if I had read this information, but I did my research, visited, and thought it was a good match. I also had a good realtionship with my son before his severe depression and have had a good relationship with him post ASR. He is now an adult--it's his life and he shares it with me--or the parts a student living in NYC would want to share with his mother. You seem to think that BOTH of us are brainwashed or something. I have all his written work from ASR adn it doesn't look that way to me--it looks as though he put a lot of thought into what he was writing--perhaps that is why he did well--he TRIED--what a noel thought--that motivation could count, even at ASR.
The idea that I am an employee of ASR is just plain weird.
I'm still
JustaMom
Anonymous:
:roll:
You're still not fooling anyone. It's obvious, like elephant-hiding-behind-a-sapling obvious. "What is a troll" is the first clue. :roll:
You don't actually interact with other people on this forum, not because you don't want to but rather because you can't- your author isn't smart or versatile enough to know how to play you. You can't express an opinion on the "Restraints" thread, the various comments on the main forum, or anywhere else. The only thing you can do is make laughably wild claims of having children and having experiences that are obviously pulled out of thin air, and creating even more fake parents when your old ones are getting destroyed.
Cripes. Two-dimensional much? When I bring my fictional characters in here, they feel real, despite their superhumanity, and it irks me to no end that all the programmies can come up with is this shit. :roll: C'mon guys, you can at least try to make them act like people! Or are you so insulated in your little programmie world that you honestly think people are going to believe this shit over a video of a screaming girl with her arms twisted behind her back?
Aspen, you make millions torturing children and feeding their broken remains back to their parents for profit. You can afford to hire a real author for this sort of thing, can't you? I'm certain you could find one with few enough scruples.
But before that, drop the fucking charade. It's getting old.
Anonymous:
I do not know where you pain is coming from--but you are so distorted that it is not worth saying anything here since you just ridicule and call people names.
It is too bad IMO that you drive off people who might want to exchange ideas about topics that are relevant to the issues I thought this site addressed. I don't know what you find so obviously false about my account of the last five years. I am certainly aware that ASR did not "fix" everyone who went there. Come to think of it, who would believe a claim of a 100% cure rate--for ANYTHING.
I have a functional young adult of whom I am very proud. I hope your mother can say the same.
Any further interaction with you is a waste of time.
JustaMom
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