Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group
Tough Lessons: Stephanie Kraft on ASR
Oz girl:
Great article Deb. Do you have a name of the title or publication she wrote this for?
Deborah:
The Valley Advocate
She wrote another piece called "Frightened Parents, Big Business". Both cached on Google.
Frightened Parents, Big Business
There is a big market these days for programs that promise to take troubled teens and return them to their worried parents with all the creases neatly ironed out.
This market consists of four layers: educational consultants who find placements for youngsters in schools, treatment centers or wilderness camps; transport services to get children to places were they don't want to go; schools, rehab centers or other long-term programs; and wilderness adventure camps with sessions that typically last from two weeks to two months.
"You can save your troubled child's future. Choosing the right program or school is essential to recovery," reads one typical Internet ad for a firm of educational consultants that promises to get your child to the right place, for a "reasonable" fee.
Also easy to find on the Web are transportation or "escort" services that employ people, sometimes ex-soldiers, with the combat skills needed to get an unwilling teenager from home to a school or hospital that may be in a distant part of the country, or even outside the country. Some of these companies ask parents to sign a release allowing them to use handcuffs, medication or other aids for subduing the child.
A favored tactic is to come for the child in the middle of the night, when the young person has no warning that he or she is about to leave home for an unknown environment. Such sudden departures have raised legal questions about whether they amount to kidnapping, even if the escort service is carrying out its job at the parents' request.
Earlier this year those questions emerged in high relief when major media carried the story of David von Blarigan, a California teenager whose parents decided he needed to be placed in a therapeutic program. Court records, including the parents' statements about why they decided to send the boy away from home, are confidential, but the available information suggests little more reason than that he had failed to adjust to a private school and was not communicating well with other members of his conservative Christian family.
Von Blarigan woke in his room one night to find two big strangers hulking over him while his parents explained that he was going to be leaving home for a while. He was taken on an unexpected journey that landed him at a behavior modification school in Jamaica called Tranquility Bay -- a school whose contract with parents allows its staff to use handcuffs, pepper spray and stun guns on students.
When a neighbor issued a complaint against von Blarigan's parents for kidnapping, the parents were exonerated on the grounds that the forcible relocation of a child by parents is not kidnapping except in cases where custody is an issue. But the case raised questions about whether a minor with no history of violence, drug abuse or other criminal activity should be placed in such a restrictive environment against his will, even by parents.
Then there are the schools, which may provide the kind of structure and consistency that will help a confused teenager get his or her thinking straight and serve as a refuge if there are difficulties at home. Or they may simply warehouse young people until they grow up by themselves, or, worse, replace whatever neglect or abuse some may have experienced at home with different forms of neglect and abuse.
Like the Academy at Swift River and its sister school, Mt. Bachelor Academy in Oregon, the schools may work in conjunction with the fourth layer, the wilderness programs. Borrowing credibility from the excellent reputation of the Outward Bound programs, these programs capitalize on the concept of letting physical necessity and the drive to rescue companions teach young people vital life lessons. But not all of them are as constructive and well managed as Outward Bound. When the leaders are insensitive or even just inexperienced, they can be extremely dangerous. Part of the danger lies in the belief that troubled young people are manipulative and not to be trusted.
The case of Michelle Sutton of Ripon, Calif., is an appalling example of an attempt by alarmed parents to find the magic cure for what may have been a fairly normal reaction to a bad experience. Sutton had been date raped, and afterward had experimented with drugs and showed symptoms of depression. Her parents paid $14,000 to send her to a wilderness camp called Summit Quest for two months.
One day the counselors who were guiding Michelle and other youngsters on a long hike lost their way. Michelle ran out of water, and the counselors told the other campers not to share with her. When her mouth became frothy, the counselors quipped that she looked as though she'd been eating marshmallows. With these tough-it-out taunts ringing in her ears, Sutton went blind, then collapsed and died of dehydration. Just six weeks later another girl, Kristen Chase, died of sunstroke during a hike in 105-degree weather at a different wilderness camp.
And no one deserved the fate of Aaron Bacon, who in 1994 was placed in a wilderness camp for a month's stay because he had been smoking a lot of pot and, possibly, selling. Bacon went out with a group on a month-long desert expedition in Utah. During the trip he developed pain from an ulcer. When he was unable to keep pace with the others, his sleeping bag was taken away as punishment, even though the nights were cold in the camping areas. His ulcer worsened, his pain intensified, and he died in the back of a truck after days of suffering.
Almost as appalling as his death was the statement by a defense attorney after the expedition's sponsors, North Star Expeditions Inc., were ordered to stand trial for child abuse. "While no one wants to use the word acceptable loss, the fact is Aaron Bacon showed up at North Star with a history of drug use and past involvement in drug sales, and he tried to control the situation with manipulation," said North Star's attorney, Sheldon Wellins.
Ironically, there very likely would have been more of an outcry if these children had been convicted of crimes and sent to prison, where they would have had advocates, rules, rights.
-- Stephanie Kraft
Oz girl:
--- Quote from: ""Guest"" ---okay this is why people here lose credibility. this article came out in 1999. none of the same staff work for ASR and none of the practices, such as LifeSteps, still exist. seems like people hold this up as the golden goose which should spell the end of ASR yet it holds no water considering the changes that have occured inthe last few years. you also keep bringing up old staff like Rudy Benz, who has been gone for 4 years. so if you have something recent to complain about show it here and maybe others will listen to you. the whole emotional growth model has been scrapped for a more clinical approach.
--- End quote ---
What this show is cthat ASR has a history from day 1 of treating kids like shit. From this to the Bentz era which introduced making kids start the program in the middle of nowhere for some "basecamp" mindgames. The only difference now is that sicne they let Dave marcus in to write his book, people have begun questioning the more bizarre aspects of the program in spite of his positive spin! In response to this ASR have been forced to try and soften things. Dont they have a new crazy principal every yr or so?
TheWho:
--- Quote from: ""Oz girl"" ---
--- Quote from: ""Guest"" ---okay this is why people here lose credibility. this article came out in 1999. none of the same staff work for ASR and none of the practices, such as LifeSteps, still exist. seems like people hold this up as the golden goose which should spell the end of ASR yet it holds no water considering the changes that have occured inthe last few years. you also keep bringing up old staff like Rudy Benz, who has been gone for 4 years. so if you have something recent to complain about show it here and maybe others will listen to you. the whole emotional growth model has been scrapped for a more clinical approach.
--- End quote ---
What this show is cthat ASR has a history from day 1 of treating kids like shit. From this to the Bentz era which introduced making kids start the program in the middle of nowhere for some "basecamp" mindgames. The only difference now is that sicne they let Dave marcus in to write his book, people have begun questioning the more bizarre aspects of the program in spite of his positive spin! In response to this ASR have been forced to try and soften things. Dont they have a new crazy principal every yr or so?
--- End quote ---
Ahhh, So we see that many schools do improve, evolve, listen to parents feed back and impliment changes based on what they have learned. Reacting to negative feed back and implimenting corrective action and change is hallmark to the success of any business.
RobertBruce:
Then why arent they a success? Or are you still ducking the question regarding no independent studies showing this crap therapy works.
Also check your PM's about our favorite author, I think you'll find it an interesting discussion.
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