Aspen Spams Internet with Fear Mongering Blogs

[Deborah]

I get Google alerts for "Aspen Education Group". Here's one that came today. There's something 'everyday', btw. With 1-4 entries, fear-mongering articles and links to get 'help' at numerous 'blogs'. Plus all the numerous program websites. They're worse than WWASP!!

New York Governor Sign Eating Disorder Bill
http://www.eatingdisordershelpguide.com/blog/[/url]

Aspen didn't 'write' the article. When you click the link it takes you to a blog on Eating Disorders hosted by © 2006 Eating Disorders Venture, LLC. All rights reserved.... Where Aspen programs are advertised.  Phone-866.690.7238 doesn't appear to be connected to anything but this blog.

Another:

Parents Convicted for Child Endangerment After Teens Die
http://www.byparents-forparents.com/blog/[/url]

This blog is clearly Aspen and states as much, but they didn't 'write' the article. What's up with that?
The National Resource Center can help you find a solution. Wilderness therapy, boarding schools, and residential treatment.
Call Tollfree 866-868-1005 for help!
By Parents For Parents offers parenting tips for parents of teens and is sponsored by Aspen Education Group...

And a third- their ADHD blog

Prevalence far Exceeds Treatment
http://www.4-adhd.com/blog/[/url]

This one's connect to Aspen isn't obvious, but clicking a link takes you to Teen Boarding Schools http://www.teenboardingschools.com/

And a fourth for their Over weight programs
http://www.myoverweightchild.com/blog/

[Anonymous]

Good. Aspen has made the mistake of thinking it can reach into the Internet for what it wants.

Now it's time for them to draw back a bloody stump.

[Anne Bonney]

No wonder Who's been back around doing damage control.
 ::bwahaha::

[MOMMABEAR]

TOO BAD THERE AREN'T ANY GOOGLE ALERTS STATING HOW MANY CHILDREN ASPEN HAS ABUSED TODAY OR WHICH FACILITIES HAVE HAD CHILDREN DIE WHILE IN THEIR CARE. OH WAIT THEY WOULDN'T WRITE THOSE EITHER.

[TheWho]

I followed a few of the links and they are very informative blogs/posts.  The posts lead to many articles, throughout the country, providing guidance to help solve many of the problems and concerns (i.E. Eating disorders, child endangerment, parenting tips).  They don’t appear to be pushing a particular treatment or Aspen based treatments.  The blog on eating disorders is extremely informative and diverse in its content.

[TheWho]

TOO BAD THERE AREN'T ANY GOOGLE ALERTS STATING HOW MANY CHILDREN ASPEN HAS ABUSED TODAY OR WHICH FACILITIES HAVE HAD CHILDREN DIE WHILE IN THEIR CARE. OH WAIT THEY WOULDN'T WRITE THOSE EITHER.

I have noticed that many people make this comment about different schools and why they don’t produce articles about abuse or suicides.  Even though the industry may have a lower incidence of abuse and death then the public sector the individual corporations or industry typically don’t produce articles on themselves depicting negative information.  This is left up to federal watchdog agencies.  For example, you would never see articles about the number of automobile deaths attributed to faulty brakes or airbags that failed to deploy written by say Ford or General Motors.  This information typically comes from a 3rd party.  So it is not surprising that Aspen education (like any other corporation) would provide articles which play only to their strengths.

If you spoke to any of your Madison avenue advertising types they would tell you that even if your school had the lowest incident of death in the nation this would not be something you would want to write about or mention because using the word death within any article associated to your companies name would be perceived as a negative to the reader whether consciously or unconsciously.

For example, if you owned a dinner you probably wouldn’t want to hang a sign up out front stating “Come on in!!!...We have not had a single case of food poisoning in 2 monthsâ€

[Anonymous]

Why does theWho constantly refer to his daughter as "his dog"?

[Anonymous]

TOO BAD THERE AREN'T ANY GOOGLE ALERTS STATING HOW MANY CHILDREN ASPEN HAS ABUSED TODAY OR WHICH FACILITIES HAVE HAD CHILDREN DIE WHILE IN THEIR CARE. OH WAIT THEY WOULDN'T WRITE THOSE EITHER.

I have noticed that many people make this comment about different schools and why they don’t produce articles about abuse or suicides.  Even though the industry may have a lower incidence of abuse and death then the public sector the individual corporations or industry typically don’t produce articles on themselves depicting negative information.  This is left up to federal watchdog agencies.  For example, you would never see articles about the number of automobile deaths attributed to faulty brakes or airbags that failed to deploy written by say Ford or General Motors.  This information typically comes from a 3rd party.  So it is not surprising that Aspen education (like any other corporation) would provide articles which play only to their strengths.

If you spoke to any of your Madison avenue advertising types they would tell you that even if your school had the lowest incident of death in the nation this would not be something you would want to write about or mention because using the word death within any article associated to your companies name would be perceived as a negative to the reader whether consciously or unconsciously.

For example, if you owned a dinner you probably wouldn’t want to hang a sign up out front stating “Come on in!!!...We have not had a single case of food poisoning in 2 monthsâ€

[hanzomon4]

TOO BAD THERE AREN'T ANY GOOGLE ALERTS STATING HOW MANY CHILDREN ASPEN HAS ABUSED TODAY OR WHICH FACILITIES HAVE HAD CHILDREN DIE WHILE IN THEIR CARE. OH WAIT THEY WOULDN'T WRITE THOSE EITHER.

I have noticed that many people make this comment about different schools and why they don’t produce articles about abuse or suicides.  Even though the industry may have a lower incidence of abuse and death then the public sector the individual corporations or industry typically don’t produce articles on themselves depicting negative information.  This is left up to federal watchdog agencies.  For example, you would never see articles about the number of automobile deaths attributed to faulty brakes or airbags that failed to deploy written by say Ford or General Motors.  This information typically comes from a 3rd party.  So it is not surprising that Aspen education (like any other corporation) would provide articles which play only to their strengths.

If you spoke to any of your Madison avenue advertising types they would tell you that even if your school had the lowest incident of death in the nation this would not be something you would want to write about or mention because using the word death within any article associated to your companies name would be perceived as a negative to the reader whether consciously or unconsciously.

For example, if you owned a dinner you probably wouldn’t want to hang a sign up out front stating “Come on in!!!...We have not had a single case of food poisoning in 2 monthsâ€

[TheWho]

Hanzo Wrote:

Shut up Who...

They kill, torture, and otherwise fuck kids up in imaginative ways that conflict with sound science and common human decency. Go hawk that shit out in the wilderness you love so much.

So you want readers to believe that everyone in the industry does this... you lose so much credibility by making blanket statements like this...go ahead spout off, but step back and try to listen to yourself !! No one is going to believe that everyone is out to kill and torture all these kids, it isnt true and there is no evidence to support it.

[Anonymous]

So you want readers to believe that everyone in the industry does this...

Not 'everyone' - just a group of them of which Aspen is one.

http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?t= ... c&start=60
Three Springs Waygookin wrote:
1) What is self-study?

2) Describe this Escorting more please?

3) Why was a student doing the escorting of a self-harming/suicidal resident and not a staff member?


A self study was the worst of the three major consequences. (reflection, challenge, self study). You had work projects, all free time was spent at your table, facing the wall. Lots of writing assignments. Loss of all privileges. Standing during all meetings. You most likely had strict bans

Basically I had to take her back to the dorm and be with her while she gathered up her things and changed, etc. I don't remember if she showered or not. I was basically there to make sure she didn't attempt again.

I don't know why they had me do it. I was "trusted" at that point, and honestly... probably a better choice than some of the staff.

http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?t= ... r&start=15
yes, they did. to a large degree. Dean Kent (the staff mentioned in the article) was gone by the time i had arrived. (he was there in 1997, and i got to ASR in Cummington, MA on January 5th of 1998) i had heard from other students about Dean, that he was a really nice guy but fired b/c he'd called DSS on them. Brett Carey was still the Dean of Student Life when i arrived, and his wife Lisa also helped in the fitness department & was pregnant when i first arrived. They had 2 other daughters, Madison & Carly. The whole thought was a bit frightening, because when we had the 2 hour group "therapy" sessions 2 times a week, they were harsh and abusive to say the least. All of us students would be split into 2 groups, and we'd be rounded up in a circle to get screamed at, belittled and dehumanized. They called it "confrontational", although it was more like verbal abuse and intentional slaughtering.
i was very afraid while i was there, as a student with an extensive sexual abuse history involving rape & incest, i was constantly the target of this slaughtering, esp. b/c i was overweight at the time. needless to say, i left ASR with anorexia some 19 months later.
Brett & other students were all allowed to scream vulgarities at you, called you a "fat bitch, slut," and all. at the age of 15 i learned the word "dildo" while playing scrabble with Brett. One of my roomates claimed that Brett had forced her into sexual operations.
Most of all, it was excusable for students to haze each other.
It was almost looked at as funny. One Staff named Kristen Merhoff gave me funny looks and made sarcastic and patronizing comments when i'd opened up to her about my eating disorder.
Later on, a staff named Amy Robichaud would scream at me for ruining my life, pushing everyone away, talking about how i was a disasterous person, unworthy of being loved. To say the least, she was an abusive person, much alike a person in the throws of an addiction like alchoholism & drug addictions, both of which she admittedly had. There was a great deal of favoritism there, even staff who seemed to want to gain the approval of certain students.
The labor & sleep deprivation that was mentioned in the article is most likely in reference to the "Lifesteps". These were so called "workshops" it was mandatory for all students to attend. Staff and students would be expected to open up there deepest and most unknown
secrets for the sake of "growing". It's true, there was little sleeping allowed & often i myself left feeling shamed & ridiculed.
i was one of the main targets in that school the entire time i was there, a target of hazing & was even blamed for a student breaking into the med office and comsuming large quantities of my prescriptions. For the first 5 months i was there, you could litterally leave, go smoke 1/2 a pack of cigarettes, drop a couple tabs of acid, take like 5 hits off a joint come back & they wouldn't even realize it.
ASR is, to say the least, a very very fucked up place. i have several more things to say, but this whole thing would take eons.

http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?t= ... r&start=30

I am a former student at ASR. I was in the first peer group, 97-98. My experience there haunts me to this day. I have read many articles that refer to the "old staff" and "new staff". I cannot speak for the way ASR is run now, being 2004, but I can speak for how it was run in 97 and 98. Let me start by saying that I am not an angry, defiant kid who is trying to start trouble for ASR. I have graduated high school and am about to graduate college and enter law school. I don't get into trouble, I am a productive member of society, and want people to know the truth. We were badgered, belittled, sworn at, made to stay up all night during "life steps" and given only small rations of food, had all calls to our parents monitored by staff and had the phone hung up on us if we tried to complain to our parents about these things, scrutinized and humiliated on a daily basis. Our mail was read, staff lost their voices by yelling so loudly at us, I personally was called a "slut", a rich little Daddysgirl, a doormat, told my dad tried to buy my love with money, made to discuss personal sexual and private experiences in group sessions with other peers, made to write a ten page paper by hand about what my "issues" were, and if the staff didn't like it, I started over ( this was because I was too close to my friend there, and they put us on bans so we couldn't talk to each other). People, whomever wants to hear specific stories about all of these things, I would be more than happy to share with you!!! email me at [email protected] i bet i can help you get her out of there


I also graduated from ASR very recently on August the 6th. And I can tell you right now that any kid who complained, their parents were manipulated right out of believing them. There was extreme emotional abuse there, and the only reason anyone's behavior was modified was because they were scared shitless of staying there longer or going to a worse program. We were so scared, your own friends turned against you and you couldnt trust them. The group sessions were awful. One of my friends who had issues with sleeping around was in group and the counselor in the room told her that she might as well keep a mattress tied to her back. Daily, I heard awful things about myself and everyday I was just so sad. Places like this are awful and they need to be stopped. ASR isnt even the worst of them but they all need to go.

http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?t= ... r&start=60

I am a an ASR graduate. I graduated in October of 03. At the end of the program I believed that ASR had done a lot for me. Looking back I am shocked that I ever thought that. I was made to turn against my friends and turn them in for the slightest rule breaking (for example listening to music). In group we were often degraded and yelled at, supposedly to make us better. Several times I was suicidal and instead of worrying they told me I was lying and being manipulative. In one group eveyone was allowed to go around and say their judgements against everyone else things like "youre a fat slut". That group was horrible. You were scared into being good and behaving. I'm not sure why I thought this place was so great, I feel as if I was brainwashed in a way.
The wilderness experience was horrible. I spent over 40 days in the outdoors being punished for any little thing we did wrong. My first day I had to run 20 minutes and when I stopped the counselers screamed at me and when i vomited they didnt care. just told me i shouldt have drank so muich water.

[/quote]

[hanzomon4]

Hanzo Wrote:

Shut up Who...

They kill, torture, and otherwise fuck kids up in imaginative ways that conflict with sound science and common human decency. Go hawk that shit out in the wilderness you love so much.

So you want readers to believe that everyone in the industry does this... you lose so much credibility by making blanket statements like this...go ahead spout off, but step back and try to listen to yourself !! No one is going to believe that everyone is out to kill and torture all these kids, it isnt true and there is no evidence to support it.

Learn to read who, everything Aspen does has been done before and is abusive. We have people that allege it, we have video of it from the BratCamp series, we have dead kids, and we have decades of abuse coming from people who have suffered at programs that spout the same junk science.

No evidence my ass!!

You refuse to see it because that is your job, of which I'm sure you're paid well for by Aspen and/or NATSAP.

Last don't put words like "ALL" in my mouth to spread your misinformation for your sick little industry.