Troubled Teens Resources

Schools for troubled teens are certainly not limited to America. Almost every country has programs for troubled teens, some, such as those in the undeveloped middle eastern countries are brutal and no more than punitive prisons with no concern over the teen’s future. Western societies have long catered to their teenagers and troubled teen programs are designed to remove the teenager out of bad environments and provide the stability and training necessary to live productive lives.

And they, for the most part, are extremely effective in turning around the lives of those teenagers willing to do the work.

One teen’s story is typical. Canadian teen Anita was being raised by a drunken and addicted mother. She loathed her school and decided in eigth grade to express that by starting a section of it on fire. After police tracked her down, she was fortunate to be diverted into a troubled teen boarding school.

“I’ve been happy and healthy ever since,” she says..Since Anita started at Whytecliff, her grades have improved. Instead of failing, she’s earning Cs and Bs.

“It’s been a lot better. I could see me finishing my Grade 12 here,” she says.

The school is not your average institution with florescent lights, loud bells and chaos in the halls. The lighting at Whytecliff is soft and low, the modern interior is mostly done in wood and it’s pretty much quiet save for the humming of computers. The atmosphere is no accident - everything has been carefully thought out to create a comforting, non-distracting environment for at-risk teens who need a sense of security, principal Bryce Hewitt explains.

“You need stability to grow,” he says, adding that’s something these teens lack in their peer and family networks.”

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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.”

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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.

Fathers who place their daughters in teen boarding schools are performing a painful, but necessary teen crisis intervention - not abandoning them, not betraying them. Yet fathers are particularly besieged with guilt when their daughters behavior leads them to place her in a boarding school for troubled teens. Fathers see their role as one of protector and provider. How could they have let their little girl down? How does a father handle dealing with a daughter who is trapped in addiction?

A site dedicated to exploring the relationships between fathers and daughters offers an account of one father’s experience.

“My daughter was in chemical dependency treatment last year and the hardest thing was to fight my urge to go in there and rescue her. Everyone told me that the best thing for her was to have her face the consequences of what she was doing. I knew that in my head, but it was really hard to do. I really needed support from other parents, especially one or two other dads, but boy, that was really hard to ask for, too.

She’s getting better, but still struggling – I mean, she’s only a kid. But I’m starting to see that sometimes the pain’s a real tool. It helps her see how serious this is and gets her moving to do what she needs to do to get better. That’s really hard to watch because she’s my little girl and Daddy’s supposed to be her protector. I know in my head that protecting her from the hurt or from the consequences, in a way, protects her from getting better. But, damn, that’s hard to let her hurt. It’s harder than going through all the chaos she put us through when she was drinking.”

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