Troubled Teens Resources

One of the troubled teen boarding schools that we refer to is Tipton Academy.  They have been helping families for a little over three years.  They use some unique techniques to help young men make changes in their lives. 

Tipton Academy utilizes Positive Peer Culture along with a dog training program that allows the young men to train/foster a puppy while they are making changes in their own lives. 
 Programs have successfully used animals for many years to help youth make changes in their behaviors.  It is impressive to watch the impact it has on a boy when he sees that his outbursts scare his dog.  At the very least the dog’s reaction initiates the young man to stop and think about how he is speaking to others, leading him to learning ways speak rationally to those he is in conflict with.  Another advantage of this program occurs when the boys are able to train the new owner of the dog they have been training.  This is an emotional event has a positive impact on both the recipient and the trainer. 

Tipton Academy is fortunate to have competent leadership with years of experience in helping troubled teens.  Michael McClendon is the Director at Tipton Academy.   Mike, or Big Mike as the boys call him has 10 years practical application using the positive peer techniques.  In Mike’s words, “It takes more patience to use this type of program because the boys actually prove to themselves that life is easier when they behave properly.  This happens when a student is forced to face the “natural consequences” of his choice and actions.  The best example of this is when two boys arrive at approximately the same time.  When one boy making appropriate choices advances and the other student who arrived at approximately the same does not advance, the natural consequences are explained to the boy.   Once he is able to clearly see he is his own worst enemy, the one who controls his own progress he will usually begin to start make better choices.  This lesson also has true life applications; when someone makes good choices they achieve positive things, just as negative choices and actions reap negative rewards and consequences”.

Boarding schools for teenagers may not be the best solution for any number of reasons. Admittedly, teen boarding schools, be they for troubled teens or specialty schools for the gifted, are a luxury that many parents find that they can not afford. But in many cases parents very much want their kids to experience a complete family life. They want them at the kitchen table doing homework, they want them in the back yard throwing a football. They want the traditional American family life.

But by the same token, most parents are alarmed by the education that their teens are receiving in public schools.

“There are those who seem to think that there is simply no hope for a child who goes to a public school. This is far from true. While private school and home schooling can be excellent options for those to whom they are available, one need not view public school as a choice of last resort.”

Of course, it requires a parent to be pro-active in their teens life. You can’t send them out the door and hope for the best.

“If you as the parent are not getting involved with the education process, the chances of your child’s success in public school drastically diminish.

Education begins in the home, and your child’s success will have a lot to do with the groundwork laid before the child even walks into kindergarten that first day. Moreover, education must continue to be reinforced in the home throughout your child’s schooling…. ”

(source)
(Photo: Kate Geraghty)

Click the link above to see how you can work with your teenagers.

When a parent receives any diagnosis for their teen it is imperative that they get more than one opinion. Especially in the area of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder where even mental health professionals will tell you that too many children and teens are being misdiagnosed.

“When Leslie Morley’s daughter was in the third grade, her teacher believed she had a learning disability and tried to put her in remedial classes. When tested for intelligence, however, results showed that she was an extremely bright girl.

Nadia Webb, a neuropsychologist and faculty member at James Madison University, discussed the misdiagnosis of gifted children and adults…”Children are easily misdiagnosed by teachers and administrators,” Webb said.”

(source)

Feedback from colleagues and friends seem to confirm the alacrity with which some teachers jump on to the ADHD bandwagon.Parents with gifted children already recognize them as such and are well aware of those traits that are so easily mis-identified as ADHD when, in many cases, it amounts to little more than boredom.

Elaine’s daughter, a budding musician,was always scribbling new compositions when she should have been doing math. Lyrics filled her mind instead of spelling lists. Her natural shyness coupled with her preoccupation with the music in her head triggered a diagnosis of bi-polar. Thorough testing revealed a mentally healthy, if frustrated, musical prodigy. An extensive search of teen boarding schools and specialty schools produced a private girl’s music academy a few hundred miles away. Though the separation is hard, her daughter’s happiness and academic progress makes it well worth it.

For basic guidance and information on ADHD , visit Troubled Teens.us.

A diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder does not instantly sentence your teen to years of Ritalin or Adderall. Many parents are dismayed to contemplate the possibility of medicating their teenager, concerned about possible drug dependencies later in life as well as possible health ramifications.

Parents who wish to exhaust every “natural”, non-medicated alternative choose to work with those mental health professionals who have developed programs that teach the ADHD teen behavioral “tricks”, e.g., harnessing the energy of ADHD, learning to utilize hyper focus and gaining mastery over restlessness and anxiety. Schools for troubled teens and specialty schools have emerged, over the years, specializing in “non-medicinal interventions”.

“A U.S. study shows non-medicinal interventions help prevent behavioral and academic problems associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Researchers from Lehigh Valley Hospital… focused on 135 children aged 3 to 5 who showed significant symptoms of ADHD — a mental disorder that makes it difficult for children to control their behavior and pay attention. Early intervention techniques included highly individualized programs that often rely on positive supports to reinforce behavior.

Using a variety of early intervention strategies, parents reported, on average, a 17-percent decrease in aggression and a 21-percent improvement in their children’s social skills. In the classroom, teachers saw a 28-percent improvement in both categories. Early literacy skills improved up to three times over their baseline status.

The researchers suggest a multi-tiered approach to intervention…”Medication may address the symptoms of ADHD, but it does not necessarily improve children’s academic and social skills,” study leader George DuPaul said in a statement.”

(Source)

Teen boarding schools, specialty schools and brat camps are not a last resort. More and more parents are moving their teens out of the public school system and separating them from an increasingly corrosive culture perpetuated by the media and the corporations who stand to profit from the teenage demographic.

“According to the most recent report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), private schools have enjoyed a steady increase in enrollment, climbing by 18 percent between 1988 and 2001 — and enrollment rates are expected to continue to rise by at least another 7 percent by 2013! Public school enrollment rose by about the same rate (19 percent) but is expected to continue to rise by only 4 percent.”

Besides superior academics, private boarding schools act as a powerful antidote to the destructive chatter, rap and hip hop that streams from teenagers iPods, MySpace and other cultural reenforcers of destructive life styles.

when you read accounts like the following, you can only wonder what parents can do when, by all appearances, their teenager seems to be doing well. Could the values and discipline that boarding schools bring to the table have made a difference?

“Attractive, vivacious, somewhat irreverent and full of spirit and talent. All these are attributes friends and family gleaned from 17-year-old Tracey.
[..]
But on Easter Sunday in 2004, that determination was snuffed out. Tracey died of a heroin overdose. Her death was hard on family members, but what shocked them even more was that Tracey had begun her addictive odyssey way before anyone ever knew.
[..]
Tracey’s now just a memory. Her mother keeps some of her ashes in a heart-shaped locket around her neck.

“This is not where your parents want you to be, around their neck in a piece of jewelry. They would rather have your arms around their neck, hugging them,” Faye said.

Tracey would have turned 21 this year if she had lived. Her mother now speaks to adult groups and schools about teen prescription drug abuse as often as she can.”

(Source)

Troubled teenagers are often diagnosed with ADHD or ODD. Parents are then set with the task of reviewing that diagnosis and accepting or rejecting it’s conclusions. They then may opt for a program of prescribed medication or one of the many emerging behavioral programs designed to assist the at risk teen with the symptoms of ADHD or ODD.

Like every issue there are two sides and there is a very large group of mental health professionals, as well as parents, who have problems with such diagnosis and challenge the conclusions that dictate that ADD/ODD symptoms represent behavioral problems or that such behavior requires psychiatric care.

“Over six million children in the US are on drugs that control the symptoms of so-called Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD. There are millions of kids on anti-depressant and anti-psychotic drugs. Despite the clinical hype surrounding these drugs, the actual clinical methods employed for diagnosis are bogus to non-existent. For the most part the average psychiatrist bases his/her clinical assessments on guidelines that support the preconceptions and prejudices of the profession.

There is absolutely no basis for describing ADD or ADHD as “a disease”, because psychiatry cannot establish any clinical data that offers a clear biological cause for this behavior across-the- board. Clinical jargon to justify their efforts to render non-conformist behavior “pathological”, is a long way from proving ADD is a disease.”

(Source)

Specialty schools and schools for troubled teens often have behavioral programs that address what some call simple rebellion. They concentrate on teaching the teen how to manage conflicting emotions, criticism and failure. They train the teen in the disciplines necessary to live a productive life.

Parents simply must study both sides of the issue and then see which school of thought best addresses the behavioral problems that their troubled teenagers are exhibiting.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder appears to have different ramifications for girls than for boys, new studies suggest. Both teen boys and teen girls are beset with hormonal changes and standard teen age confusion and angst. But researchers feel that teen girls react differently than their male counterparts.

“Through these new studies about teen girls with ADHD, we know that there appears to be a much higher risk for mental illness by the time the girl reaches 17. This Harvard Medical School study is alarming. As you can imagine, early diagnosis and treatment are essential. The sooner your daughter can be diagnosed and provided with the best treatment option, the better chance you have to head off full-blown mental illness. With this particular study, 140 teen girls with ADHD were followed, ranging in age from 12 to 17. Then, they were compared with another group of 122 girls without ADHD. The study showed that when the girls reached age 17, the group of ADHD had higher levels of clinical depression and greater problem with anxiety disorders.

(Source)

Parents with teenage girls who have a constellation of behavior problems in addition to ADHA are often better served through programs available at schools for troubled teens that are designed to address these issues along with offering a complete academic program.. Specialty schools are becoming the preferred option by many parents of troubled teenagers.

Specialty schools offer a variety of courses and programs for parents with bored or troubled teenagers. Instead of summer time being filled with picnics and baseball games, parents of out-of-control teens find themselves dreading dealing with teens with empty time on their hands. A troubled teen might throw a veritable tantrum at the prospect of attending a brat camp, but he will likely sing a different tune when he comes home.

“At Pine Island Camp, a narrow ribbon of green in a picturesque Maine lake, boys ages 9 to 15 live in tents with no electricity. They leap into the chilly lake first thing every morning, and fall asleep at night to the eerie call of loons. There are no TVs, video games, or computers, and counselors keep the only cellphone on the island hidden away for emergencies.

Six weeks of this might sound like punishment for the average boy today, who lives with his iPod in his ear and talks to his friends in text messages.

Yet this year, for the first time in recent memory, Pine Island sold out for the season six months before it opened. It is one of a number of rustic wilderness camps in New England that are seeing a surge in their popularity , at a time when parents and educators are increasingly concerned that children do not spend enough time in the natural world.”

Countless studies reveal the detrimental effects of teens being “plugged-in” 24/7. From ADD to obesity to depression, nature and shutting out all media has proven therapeutic, with long lasting beneficial effects. Every community offers a similar program. If you can’t find one through school, get on the internet. Do the entire family a tremendous favor; plug into nature and unplug culture.

Schools for troubled teens, military boarding schools and other specialty schools all have tales similar to the one excerpted below. It speaks to the simple but powerful efficacy of discipline and sports. These are principles that professionals in the field of teen metal health will all attest to. So will the parent of the young man described here.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder combined with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder can be a monumental handicap, as one teen and his desperate parents discovered…

“In the classroom… he grew up engaged in a daily struggle – wanting to focus on reading, writing and arithmetic, but unable to do so….
[..]
He felt alienated from his classmates and teachers, a feeling that was reinforced through violent clashes with fellow students.”
[..]
Nothing prepares a parent for something like this, and Travis readily admits he and Heather were ill-equipped to deal with young Brent. They sought out as much information as possible on O.D.D. and ADHD, but books and pamphlets only go so far…
[..]
Salvation for the Dicus family didn’t come in the form of a Ritalin pill or some well-meaning but ineffectual art therapy. It came in the form of an oblong ball and a green field 110 yards in length and 65 yards wide. Life started to change when Brent discovered football.

Travis and Heather knew their boy needed an outlet for his energy, somewhere he could go to hit people and get away with it. The traits that made Brent such a handful off the field were a great asset to him between the sidelines.
[..]
Though she was skeptical early, Heather Dicus soon came to appreciate the discipline supplied to her son by his coaches, who made him run laps and do sit-ups when he got out of line. Off the field she saw tangible results. He was becoming manageable, to the point where he hardly needed any medication during football season.

It didn’t happen overnight, but by the time Brent got to Grade 7 he was ready to leave that medication behind. ”

(Source)

Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ADD, ADHD, and all of the other “disorders” that troubled teenagers are tagged with will continue to be challenged by those in and out of the psychiatric field. This presents the parent of such a teen with the arduous chore of carefully examining both sides of the conflict and seeking advice from more than one source when determining the route they wish to proceed with a teen diagnosed with any one disorder.

“With increasing international concern about the large number of children labeled with so-called psychiatric disorders and prescribed mind-altering drugs, even the pioneer of psychiatry’s billing bible and “godfather of ADHD,” Dr. Robert Spitzer, recently admitted that normal children are being inappropriately labeled by health care professionals. Spitzer, a Columbia University psychiatrist, told BBC2 that children experiencing perfectly normal signs of being happy and sad are being labeled as mentally ill. While admitting this, he stopped short of informing BBC viewers that there is no scientific evidence that any of the millions of children so diagnosed have any physical abnormality that justifies the diagnosis. Nor that because of this, psychiatrists cannot agree on who is sick and who is well. Yet despite this fallible “science,” worldwide sales of psychotropic drugs prescribed to treat “mental disorders,” including stimulants, antipsychotics and antidepressants, now exceed $80 billion annually.”
(source)

Carol is a parent that opted out of a chemical solution, instead choosing to vigorously research alternative educational options for her at risk teen daughter.

“I interviewed staff at troubled teen boarding schools, brat camps and specialty schools. Andrea does beautifully if she is fully engaged. Her love of math and science seem to magically make her ADD disappear. I found a great private boarding school that basically prepares the budding scientist for college. Combined with her regular therapist teaching her how to manage her ADD and use it to her advantage, I think I really made the right choice. She is thriving now without any meds.”