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196
The Troubled Teen Industry / Alternative to Behavior Mod Lockup
« on: November 21, 2011, 05:22:46 AM »
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the ... le2241141/

Have a troubled teen? Why you need treatment, too
wency leung
Globe and Mail Blog
Posted on Friday, November 18, 2011 11:10AM EST


It takes a village to raise a child -- and to keep that child out of trouble.

Psychological sciences professor Charles Borduin of the University of Missouri developed a form of treatment for juvenile offenders more than 20 years ago that involved having therapists work with the children's entire families and communities, instead of traditional, individual counseling.

In a new study, he has quantified the long-term benefits of his approach, called Multisystemic Therapy (MST).

His latest research follows up on an original study he conducted from 1983 to 1986, which examined 176 juvenile offenders, some of whom were treated with MST and others given individual therapy.

Twenty-two years after they were treated, he found 4.3 per cent of those given MST had been arrested for violent felonies, compared with 15.5 percent who had received individual therapy.

Of the MST group, 34.8 percent had committed a felony of any kind, compared with 54.8 percent of those who had individual treatment. And those who had individual treatment were involved in family-related civil suits more than two times more often.

"This research shows that Multisystemic Therapy has long-lasting effects," Prof. Borduin said in a press release. "Nearly 22 years after the treatment, juvenile offenders treated with MST still see positive effects. This treatment has protected many potential victims, and I hope this research helps to encourage further use of the method."

In the earlier study, Prof. Borduin had found treating an offender with MST could save taxpayers and crime victims between around $75,000 to nearly $200,000 in 14 years. According to the press release, he intends to examine the savings over a 22-year period.

Should families of troubled youngsters be required to work with therapists too?

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News Items / Re: Weighted Vests for Children
« on: November 18, 2011, 03:19:32 AM »
To both of the prior posters: Thanks, What you've said is interesting and informative. Though, it still seems a little strange for a school to be doing that to a kid with no diagnosis.

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News Items / Weighted Vests for Children
« on: November 17, 2011, 12:43:47 PM »
Got a kid who won't sit still or pay attention? Strap him down in a weighted vest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9_Vqe_s4o0

I've never heard of such a thing, but a quick Google search for 'weighted vests for children' brought up 524,000 search results.

Here's a typical link to a company that markets the vests: http://weightedvest.com/why_use.html

Here's a quote from the site:
Quote
Children who are easily distracted, hyperactive and lacking in concentration respond positively to the additional weight a vest provides.

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The Troubled Teen Industry / Another Update
« on: November 14, 2011, 12:25:33 AM »
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 2275.story

For teen program's chief, tough love may have turned criminal
The operator of a Pasadena 'boot camp' aimed at turning around troubled lives with military-type discipline faces trial on charges of kidnapping and extortion for his treatment of a girl and her family.


By Ricardo Lopez, Los Angeles Times

November 13, 2011
The surprise visit to Alberto Ruiz's house was swift.

Dress quickly, he was told. You're going to boot camp.

His parents, worried about his drug use and habit of skipping school, had followed a friend's advice and called Kelvin McFarland.

Ruiz's behavior had earned him a spot in McFarland's Family First Growth Camp in Pasadena, a place with a reputation for breaking gang-bangers and drug addicts and turning them into law-abiding teens.

A former Marine who likes to be called "Sgt. Mac," McFarland founded the camp two years ago and boasted that his tough-love tactics and military-strict discipline were the perfect formula for reforming gang members, taming runaways and getting through to troublemakers.

Ruiz, who is now 18, credits McFarland's intervention for helping him finish school and quit drugs.

But authorities say McFarland's scared-straight approach crossed the line and veered into criminal behavior earlier this year when he crossed paths with another Pasadena teen.

Investigators allege that in May, McFarland was driving in Pasadena when he spotted a girl walking along the street during school hours. He stopped to question her, then handcuffed her, placed her in his car and told her to direct him to a relative's home. At the relative's home, he demanded money from her father to enroll the 14-year-old in his program. The girl's father mistook McFarland for a truancy officer when he flashed a badge, Pasadena police said.

McFarland is facing trial on felony charges of kidnapping, extortion, false imprisonment and child abuse, and unlawful use of a badge, a misdemeanor.

Now Pasadena police are investigating possible abuses that allegedly occurred at a rival Pasadena boot camp where McFarland once worked. The Pasadena Star-News recently published videos allegedly filmed in 2009 in which McFarland can be seen yelling at teens, forcing them to gulp down water even as they retch and vomit. In one scene, McFarland and other drill instructors appear to scream at a youngster, inches from his face, as he collapses in tears under the weight of a car tire on his shoulders.

The publicity has had a chilling effect on McFarland's Family First boot camp. Parents have pulled their kids out in droves. Where several dozen cadets once attended, only a handful remain.

"I'm not going to lie… we don't have 75 cadets, but we're still continuing," said Elpidio Estolas, one of Family First's directors.

McFarland is quick to defend his work in the community, as is Keith Gibbs, the director of the rival boot camp. Both say they offer a last resort for exasperated parents who have nowhere else to turn.

In interviews with McFarland, his cadets, their families and those who have worked with him, a complex portrait emerges. Critics describe him as a fast talker, easily seducing working-class Latino families with his authority-laden persona. Supporters say McFarland is a man filled with good intentions, who has overcome his flaws such as convictions for DUI and a misdemeanor assault.

McFarland says his criminal history allows him to dissuade cadets from a life of incarceration. He talks openly about the months he was homeless and his continuing struggle with alcoholism. These attributes, he says, make him a relatable figure.

McFarland is set to stand trial Wednesday, though the case has been delayed several times — once after his boot camp could no longer afford to pay his attorney, a former Pasadena mayor. He is now represented by a public defender.

But McFarland continues to operate his program throughout Pasadena, in local parks and occasionally a small strip-mall church.

In fact, it didn't take long for the boot camp to resume after McFarland got out of jail

In mid-June, from the stage of Faithworks Ministries church, McFarland — freshly released on bail — thanked his cadets and their families, quoting the Bible as he spoke. For days, they had rallied on his behalf outside a Pasadena courthouse, hoping a judge would reduce his bail.

McFarland, a deeply religious man raised by an aunt in rural Georgia, looked on quietly. Dressed in his signature military fatigues, he occasionally barked commands as the cadets stood in formation.

"I don't know of a boot camp that praises the Lord as much as we do," said McFarland, who granted The Times access to his boot camp last summer but has since refused to speak with the paper.

    After the morning drills, the group moved inside the church. The teens marched single file into a side room for a self-esteem workshop. Their families, meanwhile, sat in the pews, listening to a nutritionist. Involving parents in the program is a key component of success, McFarland says.

"The program has benefited the children tremendously," said Mirza Balvaneda, who enrolled her son when he was only 8. "The other parents said I was brave to bring him in because he's so young, but he needed to learn some discipline."

In addition to the instilling of discipline, parents — most of whom don't speak English — said they hope their children will take more initiative in their studies.

When news of McFarland's arrest broke, some thought Gibbs, who operates Sarge's Community Base, was the one who had been arrested.

The men have similar authoritative demeanors and dress — usually camouflage pants with dark polo shirts. They even have similar nicknames. McFarland is "Sgt. Mac," Gibbs is simply "Sarge."

"People were calling me because they thought I was the one who had been arrested," Gibbs said.

Gibbs said that he hired McFarland in early 2009 and that his new employee became his right-hand man. But now the two compete for recruits and offer differing views of how their relationship fell apart.

Gibbs said he fired McFarland when he discovered his criminal history and heard complaints from staff that he was using excessive force when disciplining cadets. McFarland said he only followed Gibbs' orders.

Gibbs has also faced allegations of child abuse. In a 2010 letter from Edwin Diaz, superintendent of the Pasadena Unified School District, Gibbs was told his permit to use school district facilities for his camp had been revoked.

School officials had received reports from parents that Gibbs' boot camp tactics amounted to corporal punishment. Another parent charged that he had engaged in "an inappropriate sexual relationship" with a minor. Pasadena police investigated but never filed charges because the teen recanted her claims, Diaz wrote.

Gibbs calls the allegations lies spread by disgruntled cadets who wanted out of his program.

As his court date approaches, McFarland has kept a low profile, quietly running his boot camp and dismissing his critics, who he said are trying to destroy his business with baseless accusations.

He says that at the end of the day, "it's all about the kids."

http://bit.ly/nQYYhA). To turn a child around you have to turn around their belief system.  For the record I can refute every statement made in the evil argument and so should you.  

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mikeasr at 3:15 PM November 13, 2011

It's old news that neither the boot camp programs nor the "scared straight" programs work.  They sound great, they get sold to a credulous audience, they provide drama--but they don't work.

Worse yet, those who operate them often are untrained persons who are chosen for their size, not their ability to work with people.  This commonly leads to abuses and those abuses over the past 20 years have, in some programs, included the negligent deaths of those who were made to participate.

This article just provides additional proof of this.

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steveg68 at 2:50 PM November 13, 2011

I'm curious to know what type of training or background/credentials Gibbs and McFarland have in education, psychology and/or criminal justice.   What type of licensing is required to run a camp like this?

What is the guy licensed as, a teacher, a rehab counselor, a criminal justice officer, a psychologist?   There must be a State Board that issues a permit for the job as "Professional Idiot"--otherwise how could this guy be legally operating?

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dwobjector at 2:17 PM November 13, 2011

If bootcamps work so well to change anti-socal behavior, why are there so many military vets in prison? I was a correctional officer in the 80's when an embarassing percentage of American's prison population were Vietnam vets. We are seeing the pattern repeating itself today.

Bootcamps feed our desire for a tough recation to crime. Society wants a tough approach to appease our appetite for vengence - there's little emperical evidence that it works.

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chanteuse at 6:02 AM November 13, 2011

I've always had a "problem" with folks that wear military uniforms who are not in the military.  Why does it seem that lately (the past few years anyway) that more and more police, firefighters, paramedics, corrections officers, etc. are wearing uniforms that look just like U.S. Marines?  If I were I current Marine, I might be a bit upset at all the non-Marines playing dress-up.  Police should go back to the traditional "police" uniform.  I think they'd find they would be more appreciated and people might be less fearful of them if they didn't look like tactical combat soldiers.  We're not living in Iran or Russia, are we?

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DanielLovejoy at 9:54 AM November 13, 2011

It's part of the plan. Police are para-military. A portion of the patriot act allows the president to mobilize or activate them, putting all law enforcement under the direct control of the president.

Firefighters, paramedics are auxillary. Not for law enforcement, but for clean up if thing go bad.

We have been becoming more like Cuba since 2001. The transition isn't complete, but it isn't stopping either.

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Computer Forensics Expert at 5:12 AM November 13, 2011

"Critics describe him as a fast talker, easily seducing working-class Latino families with his authority-laden persona."

Sounds like Obama.

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DanielLovejoy at 9:51 AM November 13, 2011

Way to add to the conversation troll.

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mikeasr at 3:21 PM November 13, 2011

Entirely beside the point, superficial, and ad hominem--a Republican profile of effective argument.  Childish at best--pathetic in this context.

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azlefty at 6:11 PM November 13, 2011

So I see the  Best Buy geek squad ins on break!

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steveg68 at 8:54 PM November 13, 2011

pretty funny...'cause its true

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Bundling at 5:00 AM November 13, 2011

A follow-up article on these types of facilities in general would be useful.  How common are such reported abuses?  Just reports or actual confirmations?  What is their success rate-- not just anecdotal evidence, and not just immediately after the camp.  I remember the "Scared Straight" programs, where juvenile offenders were taken to jails and supposedly scared enough by the prisoners that they did their best to always avoid jail after that.  I also seem to remember that the lasting effect was much less than hoped-for.

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steveg68 at 2:51 PM November 13, 2011

then, you've got to see the show called "beyond scared straight", it's a laugh riot

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marsaro at 2:55 AM November 13, 2011

Hi;

this guys sounds like he went over the line. He probably had some good intentions, but went too far. Shame becuase we need more programs to help kids, and not lock them up in cages. I grew up in a military family, and it was not easy. I used to have a lot of problems with my father being over borad. But, growing up in NoHo I was lucky looking back. I do not smoke cigarettes thanks to dad making me smoke a cigar in the garage until I was green. Harsh, but it worked.

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News Items / Re: Gay teen flees to avoid Utah boarding school
« on: November 12, 2011, 07:20:25 PM »
"Handcuffed for his own safety"

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-m ... 7384.story


KTLA News

6:11 p.m. PDT, October 20, 2011
BURBANK, Calif. -- Burbank police say a 15-year-old boy with autism who disappeared from Burbank Airport Wednesday purposely ran away to avoid going back to school in Utah.

Cameron James Smith was found unharmed around 6 p.m. in the 8900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, according to Sgt. Brian Lutz of the West Hollywood Sheriff's station.

Smith was captured on surveillance video running into Pizza Rustica.

Sign up for KTLA 5 Breaking News Email Alerts

He asked to use the bathroom, then ran inside to hide, employee Matt Deitturriaga told KTLA.

He said two men came in after Smith shortly after.

Smith was running from Nick Lambert, a manager at the popular gay bar The Abbey, located down the street.

Smith had tried to order a vodka orange juice at the bar, but the waiter brought him only orange juice because of his age.

Lambert approached the boy, whom he recognized from news reports.

Smith ran when Lambert asked him for ID, and then asked if he was the missing teen.

Lambert and an employee tracked the boy down and alerted police.

Police handcuffed Smith and took him to the Burbank Police Station to meet his parents.

The drama began Wednesday morning when the teenager's mother took him to the airport to make sure he safely boarded his Delta Airlines flight.

He was headed to Salt Lake City, Utah for school.

The boy was on Delta Airlines flight 4678, which is operated by Skywest Airlines.

SkyWest says Smith's parents did not notify them that he was an unaccompanied minor, or that he has autism.

Smith's mother watched him board the plane and watched it pull away from the gate before she left.

However, the flight was delayed by mechanical issues around 10:30 a.m., at which time passengers were deplaned, said airport spokesman Victor Gill.

Surveillance video showed Smith walking out of the airport and boarding parking lot shuttle #96, to Parking Lot C.

"He did not want to go back to the school he was at, and this was an opportunity for him," Burbank police Sgt. Darin Ryburn said.

Just outside the airport grounds, Smith got off the shuttle.

"He asked a shuttle driver at the airport how to get to Hollywood, and he explained to him to get on an MTA bus, and told him how to get down there," Ryburn said.

Smith did not have money with him, and borrowed some from people on one of the buses, according to Ryburn.

"His mother is very disappointed, very concerned for his safety," he said. "She was here throughout the ordeal. She is very thankful that he's safe."

---------------

Comments:


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SonjiPerez at 8:10 AM October 26, 2011

so glad he is safe these so called schools r not wht they r suppose to b believe me i knw from experience my cousin is 18 now n the y put her in a home when she was 16  stuff happened there bad stuff some stuff we dont even knw about but now she will pull her pants down at random n try to touch peoples privates

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1safechick at 1:54 PM October 25, 2011

Why did the police frog march in handcuffs and why the he11 did KTLA show the footage.  He's not a criminal, he's a 15 yo autistic kid.  Shame on the police and KTLA!!!

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Elma777 at 2:54 PM October 24, 2011

I agree with some of the people on here - namely, who gives a toss which bar this young boy was found in - gay, straight or other. Doesn't he (and his parents) have enough to be dealing with as it is?

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kindlady1 at 2:08 PM October 24, 2011

To garageboy: From what I gathered, the kid did not run away, per se. He took the opportunity to get off of the plane and explore. He was originally headed back to his "boot camp, aka special school". Obviously he took full advantage of his situation, as most teens would and even attempted to order an alcoholic beverege. It's normal juvenile behavior. Whether he suffers from austism or not, he simply took advantage of his adventure. Good news, he was found in safe condition, before he could get himself in any further trouble. Lesson learned. Next time: Parents need to escort him personally or arrange for a responsible adult to go with him to safely get him from Pt. A to Pt. B. If blame needs to be cast, start with the adult parents. Kids will be kids. He saw a hole and slipped through. It's not Delta's fault either as he was originally boarded by staff and crew. Being a "special needs" kid, they should have had a better game plan in place.  Again, glad the kid is alright and it proved to be a happy ending.

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Melissa 5150 at 10:23 AM October 24, 2011

SkyWest says Smith's parents did not notify them that he was an unaccompanied minor, or that he has autism.

This does not make sense... if the mother did not notify the airline then how did she get past security. I know when my son has flown as an unaccompanied minor I had to pay extra for a flight attendant to keep an eye on him plus I had to get a security pass to go through the gate wiith him. I could not do this unless he was an unaccompanied minor.

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garageboy at 11:49 AM October 23, 2011

Boy this is the lowest!! Who cares what type of establishment the kid was found in! Who cares as-----h. You are just trying to stir up problems for this poor kid who is already facing a struggle of a h--ll of life. You have just marked him with a X so his peers can bully him on this. You disgust me. I think the parents should be investigated as to why he ran away... Get real.

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james5108 at 1:47 PM October 21, 2011

Go to Utah or a gay bar?   Uummmm!   That's a tough one.   Could I just eat a turd instead?

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kristinreed at 12:32 PM October 21, 2011

F Ktla for bullying this kid! This kid already is unloved by his family who is shoving him away to boarding school. Now you want to add "gay bar" to your editing. What aholes.

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DarkLordBwahaha at 12:17 PM October 21, 2011

What a bunch of idiots are the commenters here! Don't think this is news Coastal1383? Don't read it! JavierRobles and others, you see issues regarding this child's sexual identity because he happened to enter The Abbey and tried to order a drink?? Your IQ is showing and it isn't a pretty sight. What laws are there regarding an autistic youth on an airplane Lawrence Lee?? If ignorance was against the law, youarefkgstopid, I would call the "po po" on you.

I'm surprised that no one hit upon the question that we should be asking. Why was this child so afraid to return to his school? What's going on there that he wanted to avoid?

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kristinreed at 12:37 PM October 21, 2011

I think it is sad that his family is pushing him away. Who would want to go to boarding school? This poor child. I have a child with Aspergers (which is a division of autism). He used to be a serious handful, but I just gave him love and patience. He is so much better now (almost 16). This boy probably had no idea it was a "gay bar" and KTLA sukks for trying to push that. 99% of the commenters on here are ignorant biggoted trolls. I try not to even read them. I think it makes me dumber. Plus, there is never a point to argue with a fool, right?

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DarkLordBwahaha at 12:16 PM October 21, 2011

What a bunch of idiots are the commenters here! Don't think this is news Coastal1383? Don't read it! JavierRobles and others, you see issues regarding this child's sexual identity because he happened to enter The Abbey and tried to order a drink?? Your IQ is showing. What laws are there regarding an autistic youth on an airplane Lawrence Lee?? If ignorance was against the law, youarefkgstopid, I would call the "po po" on you.

I'm surprised that no one hit upon the question that we should be asking. Why was this child so afraid to return to his school? What's going on there that he wanted to avoid?


coastal1383 at 5:51 AM October 21, 2011

Why is this news? Who cares...

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Lawerence Lee at 6:51 PM October 20, 2011

This story is stupid. so your saying all autism kids want to goto a bar and get vodka?? the parents are idiots. they failed to inform the airlines of the childs condition. a minor is a minor, doesnt matter if its a day before the 18th birthday. the law is the law. rules are rules..

they said he PURPOSELY ran away, so you cant say he WANDERED! duh sounds like a problem child. hates his parents...

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DamienHolland at 3:43 PM October 20, 2011

Why is this news? Does the story improve the welfare of thousands of citizens? Does it educate them in some way? Or is it a distraction from more important stories?

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bikey1 at 5:21 PM October 20, 2011

You sure ask a lot of dumb questions.

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SteadHead at 2:04 PM October 20, 2011

We might all be jumping to a number of conclusions here.  First of all, it's not like there's a sign at the edge of WeHo proclaiming "Welcome to Homopolis!"  I didn't know where WeHo was when I moved here- after college while looking for an apartment I saw one in WeHo.  Fortunately the landlord was cool enough to clue me in.

Secondly, I think a lot of people are assuming that these "bad parents" sent their poor misunderstood son to a Mormon "Pray The Gay Away" concentration camp.  But for all we know he attends a school for the autistic where he gets the attention he needs.  They might be working three jobs to pay for this wonderful opportunity for him.

The airline claims they were never informed about him but we have no way of knowing if that's true.  I've been on too many flights where I've seen a person who's Muslim or Jewish that requested a kosher meal and their request was never written down by the ticket agent.

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Sharky1 at 12:37 PM October 20, 2011

Ah. here is the problem: the parents FAILED to inform the airlines that Smith is a special needs kid.  So if you dont tell them. they assume you are good on your own.  LIke my friends and parents would have to inform the airlines of my disabilities and they are aware of it. so the staff members would pay close attention.  That dude tried to order alochol drink but was given just juice.  The shuttle driver was doing his job and doesnt know about this dude who runs away.  stuff happens.  By the way. I wouldnt appericate it if my parents send me away for school.

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ddfer1 at 10:35 AM October 20, 2011

these people need to be sterilized and have their son taken away from them!!! Why would ANYBODY put an autistic child on an airplane ALONE and not tell the airline???!!!

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TheHangEmMan at 10:32 AM October 20, 2011

Sending your kid to boarding school in Utah? Oh gosh. I don't blame the kid for running away. I would too if I was his age. You need to deal with your kids behavior effectively. You breed 'em, you raise 'em.

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kindlady1 at 10:27 AM October 20, 2011

Please that the boy was found safe. Obviously he did not want to return to his school in Utah. I picked up on that other comments might indicate the boy has a "homosexual" issue. Perhaps so, but the parents need to deal with this and maybe that is the reason he does not want to return to his school in Utah. Clearly someone should have accompanied him to Utah. Any 15 year old is rather chancey travelling alone, much less someone afflicted with "Austism" in any form. What was the parent thinking? The airline should have been notified too of the situation, so I do not blame Delta whatsoever. Lesson learned. Bottom line: The kid is safe. He is not to be trusted to travel unescorted. The school in Utah needs to be informed that he might try to runaway. I wish him and his family well and hope his issues are soon resolved.

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aperak at 9:53 AM October 20, 2011

Being forced to go to school in Utah would make any normal teenager run away to a gay bar in West Hollywood.

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youarefkgstopid at 9:24 AM October 20, 2011

#1-come on LibLA Times, keep this up...I'm retracting my First Amend. rights and following your rules...

#2-love all the armchair shrinks out there...since when did being overly/overtly cynical become the norm?

#3-this has to be the stopidist waiter to deal with the public..."are you the runaway kid I saw on the news that I'm refusing booze to but will let you sit in the bar with OJ?" Moron...just call the po po!!! Then again, WeHo popo are about as inept as they get. Gotta be splattered with blood and oozing, to get a bandaid. Nevermind. Waiter Of The Month. IQ is prob his tip %

#4-Why The Abby (free publicity!)? Santa Monica Blvd, WeHo? Hmmmm....

Ok, have at it, kids.....

  JavierRobles at 8:39 AM October 20, 2011

I know this isn't supposed to be funny, but... HE ENDED UP AT THE ABBEY????? HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Ma'am, I think your kid is not only autistic, but also....

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bikey1 at 5:23 PM October 20, 2011

Lost?

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klingklangking at 8:13 AM October 20, 2011

I thought it was odd sending him without any money at all.

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Nacho1 at 6:44 AM October 20, 2011

The word "Autistic" is used too loosely now! Everyone is Autistic!! sheesh. Saw this kid on the news and I know why he ended up in West Hollywood and its not because he's Autistic.

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vontses at 10:29 AM October 20, 2011

hahahaha my thought exactly right... and vodka w orage juice lol classic .... hmmm mom and dad should probably keep him closer to them ...

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Suzi Q at 6:43 AM October 20, 2011

Lol! Wow! He ordered a vodka orange juice???

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joe-joe-vit at 5:46 AM October 20, 2011

First,  why is this kid not wanting to go to school, there must be a problem, and why do you let an autistic kid fly alone?Sounds like there are a lot more issues here to look into, needs to be investigated.

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Billy the Kid at 9:23 AM October 20, 2011

When you send your child to a school in Utah is because he needs serious behavioral interventions.  Of course he has issues, he is an autistic teen and that's the time when it gets better and regression of any gained social and self help skills is evident.

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aperak at 9:55 AM October 20, 2011

It is his parents who have the behavioral problems.

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SonjiPerez at 5:21 AM October 20, 2011

did anyone think to ask why he didnt want to go back to the school

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redruth at 5:05 AM October 20, 2011

You do not let an unaccompanied minor that has autism travel alone. As a father of an adult son who is autistic and travels alot, I know full well the challanges that can happen along the way. Did these people expect him to handle flight delays, cancellations, reroutings or the many other things that drive us crazy? I can see why he did not want to return to these people.

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minnestoafan at 7:34 PM October 19, 2011

He ended up in WEST HOLLYWOOD!! Does anyone else feel the same way I do about what probably happened to this boy!! But in politically correct left wing America we will never know the truth!

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Sharky1 at 8:22 PM October 19, 2011

Yeah. like I said below. based on my disabilities, I am vision and hearing impaired.  So. if I wander arouond. I will never find my way.  I could jup in any bus and where ever it takes me.  so that dude must feel the same way as I would.

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Zan Campbell-Vincent at 10:14 PM October 19, 2011

Don't you find it odd that your mind went THERE almost immediately?  He took a bus and ended up in West Hollywood, by himself, at a FAMOUS gay restaurant/coffee shop/bar.  Ever think maybe he went there intentionally?  He may be autistic, but it's clear he's pretty intelligent enough to get where he wanted to go.

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Bob T OCSouth at 10:22 PM October 19, 2011

This is hilarious. You people are so afraid of things that never happen. Anyway, want to know why a lot of these "schools" end up in Utah. Cause it is a lot easier to abuse kids who are a challenge.

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lindsay99 at 10:56 PM October 19, 2011

Did you read the part where people went out of their way to help this kid? No, your politically incorrect right wing mind decided that "those people" were moments away from selling him in to sex slavery. Instead of letting your bitterness and dirty mind dictate your opinions, realize that there are good and bad people across the spectrum.

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Michael Loose at 5:54 PM October 19, 2011

@vontses. 15 year olds are allowed to travel alone. The airline might have some responsibility to bear, but very little. If I was the parent, I would have remained in the gate area until I received confirmation from the airline that the flight is airborne before leaving.

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vontses at 10:37 AM October 20, 2011

ohh i did not know they were allowed to board alone at the age of 15 but then again first report stated he was 14 and also what about the fact that he is a special needs child? but now with the developing of the story parents did not mention that ether so totally the parents faul and the young boy who did not seem to be in so much of a special need he seems to know what he wants and what he is doing... well glad he is safe.

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OUTLAW at 4:41 PM October 19, 2011

The parents are allowed to go with the child to the plane and wait in the airport until the plane takes off, at least one parent is allowed to go through security.  I did this last summer with my daughter at John Wayne Airport.  I never left the airport until that plane took off.  I paid $200.00 to the airline for an escort so that my daughter would get to her connecting flight.  This was also the case when she came home.  Her father waited until the plane took off, then he left the airport.

I really hope they find this little guy.

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Sharky1 at 8:31 PM October 19, 2011

Yeah that is understoodable.  Some people who excourt you to the gate would stay there until the plane is on the air. then they go in their own seperate business.  sometimes though your friends or parents cant be there to watch you get on the plain and see the plane takes off.  I always have people meet me at the gate on where I am to go.  But in cases of a connection flight. where you stop over and transfer planes. that is the airport's job.  Now. that is against ADA law for airports to ask for more money to escort a person with disabilities around.  Usually they throw you on a wheelchair..  And one time I had like 3 people push the wheelchair up a ramp cuz I am heavyset. (they spoke pretty loud that I heard them complain about my weight)  I donno why. but I could walk.  last time I went. I just had my cane in front of me and they dont put me on wheelchair. but they sure made me wait til I am the last person out..

  Sharky1 at 3:54 PM October 19, 2011

No. Parents are not responsible in cases like this.  But how would they know if the flight is being delayed.  When someone wiht special needs boards the plane. it is the airport's job to make sure the well being of people with special needs are ok.

Let me tell you.  Me being legally blind and hard of hearing. which by all cases is concerered as deaf blind.  I need help while in airports.  I would get lost or wander around now even know where I am. where I should be or how to find a staff member for help.  So usually someone takes me to the gate. and if they cant stay long enough to watch me get in the plane and when the plane takes off. they would speak to the people on the desk and they will take care of that.  Sometimes though. they dont always keep you in check as I learn that.  other times the passengers would take care of that cuz they are lazy.  I think they should do a better job.  put them on wheelchairs is a poor excuse.

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Zan Campbell-Vincent at 10:16 PM October 19, 2011

From what I read in another article, the parents lied about his age (he's 14, not 15) to avoid paying the unaccompanied minor fee, then failed to mention his autism.  Sounds like the parents are pretty responsible.  

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vontses at 3:51 PM October 19, 2011

this airline has some explaining to do NO MINOR is to be left unattended while in custody of any Air LINE .... a flight attendant was to be with the boy at all times until a legal guardian was there to pick up the boy in this case until the plane was fixed and ready to board once again... huge law suit i hope the poor boy is found soon and safe.. god be with the parents who are probably going crazy right now

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mariela1 at 4:00 PM October 19, 2011

I AM SO SAD i hope they find him soon ... he must be scared .... I have a son with special needs .... :(

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nyu1232 at 9:41 PM October 20, 2011

Good luck with your GED vontses.

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crystals at 3:17 PM October 19, 2011

Thats so scarey.  I would think he'd be escorted as a passenger with special needs.  I couldnt let me kid fly alone like that anyway. I hope he's found soon.  Poor kid.

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flyerdarren at 2:53 PM October 19, 2011

Parents with unaccompanied minors boarding flights are generally required to remain at the airport until the flight is airborne. Same should apply for cases like this.

201
News Items / Re: Gay teen flees to avoid Utah boarding school
« on: November 12, 2011, 07:11:28 PM »
http://www.frontiersla.com/Blog/Frontie ... D=10304111

Missing Autistic Teen Orders a Drink in WeHo
Posted 10/20/2011 10:40:00 AM
 
By Stephan Horbelt
Editor
 
   
   
 
Autistic 15-year-old Cameron James Smith went missing from Burbank's Bob Hope Airport yesterday afternoon, despite his mother taking him into the terminal and dropping him off at his gate. Smith was heading to Salt Lake City, where he attended a special needs school. When it turned out that his flight was delayed due to mechnical problems, Smith bolted.

After what became a seven-hour search for the missing teen, his mother was relieved to discover he'd been found on the streets of West Hollywood.

ABC Local News reports that Smith wandered into The Abbey in West Hollywood, where he proceeded to order an alcoholic drink. Abbey manager Nicholas Lambert recognized Smith from an ABC7 Eyewitness News cellphone text alert and confronted the teen, who went by the name "George" and said he was 17 years old.

When Smith bolted out of The Abbey, Lambert went after him, following the teen into the nearby Pizza Rustica restaurant. Lambert waited for the teen, who had locked himself in the restaurant's bathroom, and when he emerged, Lambert called the police.

"He was frantic and shaking," Lambert said. "He wouldn't really talk and I had let him know at that time there were people looking for him and it was important he get back to his parents."

The police put Smith into the car (in cuffs for his own safety) and returned him to his mother.

Website WeHo Confidential sheds light on the story that ABC News does not offer, though we haven't been able to confirm:


    The story the media portrays is that of "an autistic child is safe today after running away from the Burbank airport when his mother failed to ensure his safe departure". The media won't tell you that Cameron is gay, that he's being shipped away for his homosexual tendencies (again) or that he'll be bullied into a closet for the next four years no thanks to his parents.

    Cameron didn't run away from school. He simply fled to the only gay sanctuary he'd ever heard of, hoping that someone there could save him.

    ...

    When asked for comment Abbey founder David Cooley had this to say:

        This brave young man was in the process of being returned to the state of Utah where being gay is not tolerated. Cameron obviously fled to the Abbey because it's renowned for being a safe haven for members of the gay community & my heart pours out to him during this difficult time in his life. I hope Cameron knows he has a family here & that he touched our lives in a very powerful way today.

202
News Items / Troubling Tracking Devices
« on: November 12, 2011, 07:10:00 PM »
http://thautcast.com/drupal5/category/t ... ames-smith

Cameron James Smith
"Wandering Autistic Boy" or "Runaway Gay Aspie"?
Submitted by Landon Bryce on Fri, 10/21/2011 - 11:07
Published in

    * Asperger's Syndrome
    * Autism Speaks
    * Cameron James Smith
    * Wandering

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A diagnostic code for wandering that can be added for people with autism or other conditions is at best a deeply troubling development.  To understand why, please think seriously about the story of Cameron James Smith.

Autism Speaks, the National Autism Association, and the companies who want to sell tracking devices to parents of autistic kids have been very successful in drumming into the heads of people in the media that "autistic kids wander away."  Cameron did not even need to have the diagnosis for reporters to use that frame when writing about what happened when he left the Bob Hope Airport a few days ago:

    Authorities in Southern California have found a 14-year-old autistic boy who wandered out of Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Calif.

    The boy, Cameron James Smith, was found unharmed outside of a restaurant in West Hollywood, Calif., around 6 p.m. PT, according to the Burbank Police Department.

He didn't know what he was doing-- he certainly didn't have a specific destination in mind.  He just wandered away.  Because that's what autistic people do.  It doesn't mean anything when they do it, so you don't even have to think about what they might be communicating or trying to do.

But people who saw Cameron, who actually has Asperger's syndrome, say that he knew exactly what he was doing and where he wanted to go when he ran to a gay bar:

    The wait staff recognized the runaway boy from the news & asked for ID before serving him a regular orange juice. When asked for his name Cameron told the Abbey Manager, Nick Lambert, that his name was George. Nick showed Cameron his photo on the news and Cameron bolted. He kicked off his freshly acquired Casual Cool boat shoes in the park & ran into Pizza Rustica where he asked to use the restroom. He locked himself in & eventually surrendered to Lambert when he sat a table in the pizza shop.

    The story the media portrays is that of "an autistic child is safe today after running away from the Burbank airport when his mother failed to ensure his safe departure". The media won't tell you that Cameron is gay, that he's being shipped away for his homosexual tendencies (again) or that he'll be bullied into a closet for the next four years no thanks to his parents.

    Cameron didn't run away from school. He simply fled to the only gay sanctuary he'd ever heard of, hoping that someone there could save him. It was almost as if he was told "It gets Better" by a president who believes that marriage equality should be left up to the state & when he tried to seek sanctuary the universe said "not today kid!" Without realizing it Cameron's only hope was to land on safe soil but unfortunately this young man didn't flee Cuba & the Abbey is not Miami beach aka freedom.

So-- was Cameron just randomly and autistically wandering, or is he a gay kid who ran away because he feels persecuted by his family?

I don't know which narrative is true, but I think the question matters a lot.

Do you see how the wandering narrative has already made it easy for parents who may not have their kids' best interests at heart to get people to ignore the reasons why they may not stay where they are supposed to?

And, again, this is going to cause ridiculous problems as kids who get a wandering diagnosis because of legitimate childhood problems age.  Very few parents, schools, or doctors are EVER going to push to remove a diagnosis which gives them access to resources they might have without it.  Especially if it also increases the control they have over a teenager.

This is why I feel such anger toward parents who think that feelings are the most important at stake when they ignore autistic adults or act like we are objects.

Cameron's story was told for him by a campaign mounted by Autism Speaks.

Please don't pretend that that might not have disastrous consequences for him.

---------------

See video at end of article about push to attach diagnosis label for wandering to people who don't stay where other people think they should.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... XfWoOQpEDU

203
Open Free for All / Re: New Book from Program Grad.
« on: November 12, 2011, 06:05:31 PM »
Other relevant links regarding subject:

Chad Hepler on Struggles with Addiction and Alcoholism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkIBQgyHQ-s

http://www.facebook.com/AddictionAuthor

Book website:http://www.interventionbooks.com/

Another article:
Marietta resident details recovery from drugs in new book
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/15 ... eft_column


Wilderness Treatment Center Memories

by Lon Woodbury on February 15, 2011
http://parent-empowerment-blog.com/2011 ... -memories/

204
Open Free for All / Re: New Book from Program Grad.
« on: November 12, 2011, 06:01:16 PM »
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/loca ... 03286.html

Comments from above article:

 13 comments:

    *
      ChadHe posted at 2:44 pm on Sat, Feb 5, 2011.
      ChadHe Posts: 8

      Jeffak

      Wow! Cover to cover in that short of a period... You're a quick reader. Thank you so much for the multiple orders, I really appreciate it big time!!!
          o Log In to report.
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      Jeffak posted at 2:34 pm on Sat, Feb 5, 2011.
      Jeffak Posts: 62

      Amazon delivered a day early so I got the book on Thursday.
      I read it cover to cover on Friday and dropped it off for my friend in a Ocala Florida rehab Saturday morning.
      It's a powerful book, I ordered two more to share with a couple of struggling parents of teenagers I know....
      Thanks Chad!
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      ChadHe posted at 3:21 pm on Fri, Feb 4, 2011.
      ChadHe Posts: 8

      Thank you MJV24, I couldnt agree more. I now work at an inpatient treatment facility and to see families bring loved one's in for treatment is always such an amazing act of love and courage.
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      MJV24 posted at 12:11 pm on Fri, Feb 4, 2011.
      MJV24 Posts: 58

      What a great story! I am so glad you had parents who loved you enough to fight for you and help you!
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      MrLaffs posted at 8:37 pm on Thu, Feb 3, 2011.
      MrLaffs Posts: 35

      His dad could have saved a lot of money by using the "closed-fist-and-rubber-hose" treatment...
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      ChadHe posted at 6:34 pm on Thu, Feb 3, 2011.
      ChadHe Posts: 8

      Well said Chuckie! Very cool to hear you are a good friend of John and Nancy's! They do deserve much credit for creating such an incredible rehabiliation operation. It's amazing how many people I hear about that have either been to WTC or have had a family member go there. The place works, plain and simple.
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      ChuckieInMT posted at 9:44 am on Thu, Feb 3, 2011.
      ChuckieInMT Posts: 66

      Let's hear it for John & Nancy's vision of some 25 or 30 years ago!!! Once upon a time, John and a friend took six of us through the South half of the Bob Marshall Wilderness with just our journal, a backpack and fishing pole. After we came out at Upper Holland Lake, a week later, all of us had grown immensely. I still think of John often and am glad to see his continued effect on people. It works, if you work it, huh?
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      ChadHe posted at 6:13 am on Wed, Feb 2, 2011.
      ChadHe Posts: 8

      khopseker

      Yes, the wilderness treatment center can do wonders for people struggiling with addiction. Congrats to your son! I share the same feelings he does toward the treatment center, that is I learned things that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I agree that parents need to be more intune with their children and make the tough decision to get them help before it get's any worse. You are commended to have made such a tough choice and I am sure your son is appreciative. Thank you for the book purchase, it helps keep me sober!
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      khopseker posted at 9:58 pm on Tue, Feb 1, 2011.
      khopseker Posts: 2

      Chad, My son, now 31, also had a surprise trip to The Wilderness Treatment Center near Marion. He was also just a few weeks from turning 18. He had some relapses but the lessons he learned at Wilderness were seeds that developed in to a strong and healthy ego. He is now happily married to a wonderful woman and has a lovely one year old daughter. He tells me often that "Wilderness" saved his life. As a Mom, It was a huge decision to make. I was afraid that he would hate me forever and I didn't know if he would survive such a treatment center.. I did know that he wouldn't survive the drug life. We parents need a wake up call. It is so much easier at the time to put our head in the sand and wallow in our deniel.. I will buy your book. Good Luck to you. K
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      ChadHe posted at 2:26 pm on Tue, Feb 1, 2011.
      ChadHe Posts: 8

      Jeff

      Thank you for ordering the book! Hearing that people are either ordering my book or reading it gives me a high that drugs and alcohol can not touch. I frequently speak to groups about substance abuse and talk specifically about creating natural highs like writing and selling my book, so thank you!

      I'm sorry to hear about your friend but glad to hear he his getting help. An inpatient facility can be very effective, trust me I know. I am currently working at an ipatient facility in GA and see a lot of success come from the facility. You are very kind for for not judging your friend and for helping him out.

      Thank you for the feedback about the website issue. I will work on it. If you get a chance check out my blog on my website, I recently posted an excerpt from the next book.

      -Chad Hepler
      "Create the natural highs!"
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      Jeffak posted at 12:46 pm on Tue, Feb 1, 2011.
      Jeffak Posts: 62

      Hey Chad,
      I ordered your book after reading this story along with a few pages of the book on Amazon, they say the book will be here by Friday.
      A very dear friend of mine just entered a court ordered rehab and this coming Saturday I will be allowed to drop off a few things for him, my plan is to make it a gift for him. I don't get to see him for another 30 days and thats if I'm allowed to act as his family member. His parents have pretty much abandoned him.

      See if you can get some more keywords embedded in your websites pages. I did a search yesterday to see if you had a website and google didn't produce when I searched the following term.
      "Intervention: Anything But My Own Skin"

      Thanks........
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      ChadHe posted at 10:40 am on Tue, Feb 1, 2011.
      ChadHe Posts: 8

      Thanks Jeffak, my book has recieved a lot of emotional responses based on the reader feeling like they are part of the story. I am currently writing the second book that will pick up where "Intervention: Anything But My Own Skin" left off. This is my website http://www.interventionbooks.com
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      Jeffak posted at 8:39 am on Tue, Feb 1, 2011.
      Jeffak Posts: 62

      Amazon offers some pretty lengthy previews of this book.
      It's getting incredibly strong reviews....
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205
Open Free for All / New Book from Program Grad.
« on: November 12, 2011, 05:59:01 PM »
Chad Hepler's escalating drug problem began at age 14. Five days before his 18th birthday his parents had him transported to Wilderness Treatment Center in Marion, Montana. http://www.wilderness-therapy-program.com/index.html.

He's now 25, a recent college grad with a degree in psychology who wants to be an addiction counselor. He wrote a book about his treatment experience that starts with being woke up at 4am and seeing a 6'6"  transporter/kidnapper in his bedroom.

Go to the amazon link and click on the cover photo for a "Look Inside". The first 12 pages are an account of the transport procedure from being woke up, a half-hearted escape attempt, and subsequent tackle and handcuffs to the ride to the Atlanta Airport. It's an good read for anyone interested in the transport procedure.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/145367 ... d_i=507846

Below is a newspaper story:

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/loca ... 03286.html

Book relives drug treatment in Marion
Posted: Monday, January 31, 2011 2:00 am

Book relives drug treatment in Marion By CANDACE CHASE/The Daily Inter Lake Daily Inter Lake | 13 comments

Just five days before his 18th birthday, Chad Hepler had a rude awakening from the comfort of his bed in his parent’s house in Georgia.

“It was 4 a.m. and I was still hazy from drinking,” Hepler recalled in a telephone interview.

A 6-foot, 6-inch, 300-pound man and a strapping woman stood by his bed. They informed him that they were escorting him to a substance abuse treatment center and he had no choice in the matter.

“They said, ‘You can come the nice way or the hard way,’” Hepler said.

His book, “Intervention: Anything But My Own Skin,” opens with this scenario. In his fog, Hepler had no idea that he was headed for the Wilderness Treatment Center in Marion for the two transforming months that inspired this book.

“I learned so much about myself,” he said.

Hepler wrote it to share his life lessons with those in recovery as well as to give hope to parents who, like his own, had tapped every local resource trying to get their son off drugs and alcohol but had no success. He said parents who read the book feel a lot of relief.

“They find out, No. 1, that they’re not alone,” Hepler said. “No. 2, they shouldn’t be ashamed to be dealing with drug addiction and things can turn out OK.”

As the child of an upper-middle-class, caring, two-parent family, Hepler had all the advantages, including attending a private school. But money didn’t diminish the lure of alcohol and drugs for a socially awkward adolescent with low self-esteem.

Now a sober college graduate, author, speaker and addiction counselor, Hepler looks back to his Wilderness Treatment Center experience as a crucial milepost at the beginning of his journey to recovery. At 17, he had no motivation to seek treatment.

“I would never have gone on my own,” he said.

Hepler’s downward spiral started subtly in an environment that his parents never suspected was dangerous.

“I was 14 when I started experimenting with alcohol and marijuana,” he said. “It was the summer before the ninth grade with neighbors and friends. It gave me a feeling of comfort and peace.”

After this initiation, Hepler used drugs and alcohol on and off. When he turned 16 and started to drive, he got away from his parents’ scrutiny and gained increased access.

“I used cocaine and ecstasy — I tried meth once,” he said. “I tried hallucinogens, LSD and mushrooms. I was going to school high.”

A few days before his 17th birthday, Hepler got pulled over by the police, who found him with five bags of marijuana. He had become a dealer to support his habits.

“They took me to the police station just two days before my birthday,” he said. “If I had been 17, I would have been in the main jail in Atlanta.”

His parents got him a lawyer, and he received just community service and was required to submit to random drug screenings. Hepler said the judge could see that his parents were committed to helping him stop, yet he found a way to keep using.

After he turned 17, Hepler began to suffer from depression and received antidepressants but didn’t stop using illegal drugs. It pushed his behavior over the edge.

“I was off-roading on people’s lawns,” he said.

His parents tried all the tools to cut him off drugs. They tested him at home and had him sign forms saying they would sell his car if he was caught using illegal drugs.

Hepler spoke with counselors and psychiatrists and former addicts. He went to meetings with people in recovery.

“Nothing took that desire away from me, to make me stop using,” he said.

 To please his parents, Hepler, now a senior in high school, met with the son of a friend who had gone through the Wilderness Treatment Center in Marion. Hepler had no idea he was talking to an investigator.

After the meeting, he told Hepler’s parents that their son would never get sober without intervention. But the time for action was slipping away as he was nearly 18, the cutoff for forcing him into treatment.

“Five days before my 18th birthday, they made a snap decision to hire the escort service,” he said. “Their job was to get me to the treatment center. That’s where my book starts.”

When the hulking man and large woman encountered him on that memorable morning, Hepler pretended to cooperate, getting up and getting dressed. As they walked him outside holding on to his arms, he bolted, but didn’t get far.

“I got tackled and handcuffed,” he said.

As they drove away, his escorts told him that, if he ran at the airport, he would fall under federal jurisdiction and he wouldn’t like the outcome. Hepler accepted his fate and flew to Montana for two months instead of finishing his last semester of high school.

Located on a 4,000-acre working cattle ranch near Marion, the Wilderness Treatment Center serves adolescent and young adult men ages 14 to 24. It was established in 1983 by John and Nancy Brekke.

Ben Dorrington, director of referral relations, said the Wilderness Treatment Center combines two models of treatment.

“We really are the only program that combines inpatient and wilderness therapy,” he said. “It’s been successful for 27 years. It’s changed a lot of lives.”

Hepler counts his as one. At the time, he was anything but receptive to the helping hand that jerked him out of his destructive lifestyle in Georgia and dropped him in the remote center in Montana.

He vividly recalls the four-and-a-half days of therapy with his family that began two weeks after he arrived.

“I had a lot of resentment when I first got there,” he said. “By the time they got there, I had simmered down and the drugs had left my body. We all just broke down and started bawling.”

Hepler said the therapy included becoming totally honest. He had to tell his parents what he had done, including the parts he didn’t think his parents knew about — like the car he had wrecked.

To his shock, he found out that they had figured out most of his darkest secrets on their own.

“For me to tell them was nerve-wracking,” he said. “It was really refreshing to get it all off my chest.”

After 30 days of inpatient therapy, Hepler began the 16-day wilderness survival portion of his therapy. For a Southern boy, the outdoor excursion in the middle of a Montana winter presented a daunting challenge.

“Coming from Georgia, I had never cross-country skied,” he said. “We went three to five miles a day. We lived in a snow hut and spent time completely by ourselves.”

According to Dorrington, Hepler’s book accurately portrays the program at the Wilderness Treatment Center. Depending on the time of year, the trip is 16 to 18 days long.

“After a month, the guys start to be motivated to change but they haven’t been tested,” Dorrington said. “The wilderness induces a naturally stressful environment. It brings out the best and worst in clients, and we counsel them accordingly.”

Dorrington said they return for more inpatient treatment, where they bring all the parts together. He said their successes in overcoming obstacles plays a crucial role in their rehabilitation.

“We really believe that if you increase a young man’s self-worth, he’ll feel empowered to make changes.”

Hepler went from the center to a halfway house, where he completed his core studies to earn his high school diploma. From there he returned home, and then went directly to college where he had an  addiction setback, but overcame it and set a goal of earning his degree and publishing “Intervention.”

He said he came to the center with low self-esteem and anxiety with “that desperate feeling of wanting to be anything but me.”

He left with a new closeness to his family and himself.

“I worked on who I was as a person,” he said. “I learned so much about myself.”

Dorrington was so impressed with the vividly detailed account that he recommends Hepler’s book to prospective patients and their parents. He said he and others at Wilderness Treatment Center learned from the book as well.

“It really helped our staff to understand better what these guys go through,” he said.

That’s music to Hepler’s ears. Through his book and career, he transformed the devastation of his addiction into a positive.

“I’ve been able to touch people’s lives,” he said. “That brings me a high that drugs and alcohol can’t.”

People interested in purchasing “Intervention: Anything But My Own Skin” can order the paperback from any bookstore or through Amazon.com or in digital format via Amazon Kindle.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at [email protected].

206
News Items / Re: Fighting Fat in the name of the Lord
« on: November 11, 2011, 04:28:06 PM »
Quote from: "Ursus"
From one of cmack's links above:

    The charge later was reduced to a Class A misdemeanor, and a mistrial was declared when jurors couldn't reach a decision in May. Kolb said the McClintock family continues to be affected by the "outrageous" experience. "We wouldn’t treat our dogs that way," he said.[/list]
    The teen boot camp was known as Love Demonstrated Ministries, based near Corpus Christi, TX.

    At the time of all the hoopla, I believe it was the Corpus Christi Times which had the most coverage of this case. The heartlessness and cruelty of the online commentary was, quite frankly, pretty shocking. Apparently, the locals were, in large part, all gung-ho for dragging disrespectful/errant teens behind vans. To me, it kinda read like "confessions of a lynch mob." Hopefully, that was just a very vocal minority.

    From what I recall, the girl wasn't just pulled by the van, she fell down during the experience, and was consequently dragged through the dirt. Flowers is lucky the girl wasn't more seriously injured than she was.

    Young people are the only minority left that it's okay to discriminate against. Had that Pastor been dragging an African American, a Hispanic, or even a dog, like the quote above mentions, then he'd have been sent to prison for decades. There is something terribly wrong with any society that hates its own children and treats them worse than dogs.

    207
    News Items / Re: Fighting Fat in the name of the Lord
    « on: November 11, 2011, 03:50:03 PM »
    From the above article:

    http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18991/charles-flowers

    It appears in Texas you can run a boot camp and abuse kids with impunity as long as the camp lasts less than 11 weeks.

    Quote
    Exempt from regulation

    Last year, Love Demonstrated Ministries reported private and government contributions totaling $314,673 to operate the boot camp, with nearly 89 percent of the costs, $278,549, going for salaries.

    Associate pastors at the Faith Outreach Center couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.

    Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said it “appeared that this operation is probably exempt from our regulation.”

    He said for a camp to be licensed, it needed to operate longer than 11 weeks.

    The camp in Nueces County only lasts 32 days.

    208
    News Items / Re: Fighting Fat in the name of the Lord
    « on: November 11, 2011, 03:43:32 PM »
    He was just trying to motivate her:

    http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18991/charles-flowers
    Quote
    A San Antonio pastor and an employee of his Christian boot camp were arrested Friday on aggravated assault charges, accused of dragging a girl behind a van after she failed to keep up during a running exercise.

    http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23158/l ... nistries-5
    Quote
    The San Antonio-area pastor accused of dragging a 15-year-old girl behind a van at a Christian boot camp in 2007 is being sued in Bexar County by the girl’s mother, Frances McClintock.

    The suit, filed Monday in state district court by attorneys Carl J. Kolb and Terry Martin, seeks at least $2.5 million in damages.

    The suit names, among others, Pastor Charles E. Flowers and his former training assistant Stephanie Bassitt, who initially were charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault in the alleged dragging of Siobahn McClintock behind a van at the Love Demonstrated Ministries’ camp 10 miles west of Corpus Christi in Banquete.

    The charge later was reduced to a Class A misdemeanor, and a mistrial was declared when jurors couldn’t reach a decision in May. Kolb said the McClintock family continues to be affected by the “outrageous” experience. “We wouldn’t treat our dogs that way,” he said.

    http://news.exchristian.net/2007/08/pas ... -teen.html
    Quote
    Pastor praised for abusing teen
    SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The San Antonio pastor charged with assaulting a teenage girl at a Christian boot camp returned to his church Monday.

    The story captured national headlines after Pastor Charles Flowers and an employee were charged with dragging a 15-year-old girl behind a van.

    Flowers and his wife, however, told his congregation that they would get through the difficult time with faith -- but no fear.

    The church was filled to standing-room-only capacity by supporters rallying behind Flowers and camp trainer Stephanie Bassitt.

    Flowers' attorneys said they would build a strong case around Flowers' honorable reputation, showing that they're representing a man who is known for helping the community.

    They also explained how problems are bound to develop for a pastor who faces lots of resistance from troubled teens at camp.

    Can't let those wicked teens disrespect ya!

    Good catch Ursus.

    209
    Feed Your Head / Re: Teen Mania's Honor Academy boot-camp
    « on: November 09, 2011, 10:39:42 AM »
    Teen Mania is an evangelical Christian ministry.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Mania_Ministries

    It's the kind of belief system and culture I grew up in. As a college student I drifted away from church. I was involved in the normal social scene on campus and at some point began to feel guilty. I visited the Baptist Student Union a few times, but the students there were so tightly enmeshed with each other and cliquish that I don't think anyone ever even spoke to me. So at one point I saw this new guy on campus from Campus Crusade. He was a minister/missonary, around 30 years old. He was trying to start a new ministry on campus. I stopped by his table in the student center one day where he was handing out info. and agreed to sit down and talk with him. It was like a high pressure sales job. I'm not really much of a joiner and his tactics made me feel uncomfortable, but I gave him my phone number and agreed to speak with him again later.

    Not long after he contacted me at my frat house and really put the pressure on. I guess he thought I was already more committed to his cause than I was. This was only the second or third time I had ever talked to the guy and he was trying to get me to commit to large amounts of time with his group and to get him an in at my fraternity where he could recruit more people.

    His tactics made me very uncomfortable and reminded me of a cult. I broke off contact with the guy and confined my Christian service/growth to the occasional Sunday morning church service when I went home to visit my parents.

    Teen Mania seems even more intense. I know/knew a lot of people like this. They can justify just about any abuse in the name of serving Jesus and the young are very vulnerable and naive.

    Teen Mania seems to run largely off the free/slave labor of young people who volunteer a year of their lives thinking they are serving Jesus. Oh, they have to pay for the privilege:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Mania_Ministries

    Quote
    The Honor Academy is an internship program for high school graduates and college students. Honor Academy interns perform most of the day-to-day functions of the different ministry programs through ministry placements. First year interns are often referred to as Undergraduates. Undergraduates that decide to return for an additional year or more are referred to as Graduate Interns. Key areas of the Honor Academy include, Ministry Placements, Weekend Retreats, Classes, and Extra-Curricular Activities. In order to participate in the Honor Academy, individuals must raise their own financial support, which ranges from $650 to $850 per month depending on the specific program. These funds are a tax-deductible contribution directly to the ministry and are non-refundable.[9]

    http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2011/02 ... early.html

    Quote
    If You Leave the Honor Academy Early....
    2/09/2011  Recovering Alumni  97 comments

    Then God Hates You.

    Well, at least thats what Dave Hasz teaches.

    And I have proof.

    Within their first week on campus, every new intern sits through a teaching given by David Hasz about the importance of keeping your commitment. This teaching is designed to get interns to commit to staying at the Honor Academy for a full year. After all, if interns are allowed to leave whenever they want to, then Teen Mania no longer has a dependable work force and its operations would be seriously hampered.

    Of course, that is not the way its presented to the interns. They are told that if they leave the Honor Academy before their full year is up, their ability to be successful in life will be severely hindered and that even their future marriage is probably doomed since they presumably can't keep a commitment. They are also told that they will be out of God's will and therefore disobedient and rebellious. If you've never been to the HA, that might sound unconvincing or even trivial. But let me tell you, it is CONSTANTLY hammered into your brain by all levels of leadership to the point that most interns won't even entertain the thought of leaving for fear of sinning against God.

    http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2010/01 ... -pt-1.html

    Quote
    This Ethics and Leadership class gives a great glimpse of the true nature of the Honor Academy. You will see just how the interns are primed to accept the absolute control fo the HA leadership.

    http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2010/02 ... -bond.html

    Quote
    Former interns will recognize the title of this post instantly. "Our Word is Our Bond" is a teaching given during Gauntlet week (your first week at the Honor Academy). During this sermon, the interns are taught to keep their word no matter what. They are counseled that things may come up to try to distract them from their commitments, but a truly Godly person will not go back on their word no matter what comes up. The not so subtle implication is that interns should not quit the Honor Academy, because if they do they are breaking their word and are therefore in sin. This is a HUGE reason that many people stay at the Honor Academy even when they want to leave - the guilt over "sinning against the Lord" by breaking their word is too horrible to contemplate. And so they stay.

    This what was said about the boot camp:

    http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2009/09 ... crack.html

    Quote
    Are They on Crack??
    9/02/2009  Recovering Alumni  38 comments

    That's pretty much what I think of every time I hear about ESOAL. For those of you who are unitiated, ESOAL stands for Emotionally Stretching Opportunity of a Lifetime. The interns call it "torture camp" for short. In reality, it should probably be called EABTNG or Emotionally Abusive Brainwashing and Torture in the Name of God.

    Am I being too harsh here? After all, surely they wouldn't actually torture innocent kids who are paying to be there and who trust their every word. If torture was going on, surely the news and police would be all over them. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

    I am here to unequivocally state that ESOAL uses well known brainwashing techniques including:

    - Verbal Abuse
    - Sleep Deprivation
    - Fatigue
    - Restricted Diet
    - Excessive exact repetition of routine activities
    - Dehumanizing of individuals by keeping them in filth
    - Assault on identity
    - Guilt
    - Self-betrayal
    - Breaking point
    - Compulsion to confess
    - Chanting and repetitive Music

    Even without understanding the science and pyschology behind these brainwashing techniques, where in Scripture do we see Christ using any of these practices on his followers? Clearly, Scripture says we will be persecuted. Nearly all of the disciples were martyrs. But they didn't go looking for it. They didn't practice on each other. This is something that is never endorsed or commanded by Jesus. He said to love one another, think the best of one another, forgive and care for one another.

    Forcing people to roll endlessly down vomit covered hills, depriving them of food and sleep, continously hurling insults and verbal abuse at them - I don't see how any of this behavior is even remotely justifiably by Jesus nature or Scripture.


    My Teen Mania Experience

    life at the Honor Academy and beyond
    http://www.recoveringalumni.com/

    210
    Facility Question and Answers / Re: Anneewakee - The Lost Boys of Georgia
    « on: November 09, 2011, 02:42:35 AM »
    I couldn't find an obit online, but I believe Poetter died of cancer in 2000.

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