TEN MYTHS ABOUT AUTISM
(2009) Nurse Practitioner Schools reports: With Autism affecting around 3.4 out of every 1,000 children between the ages of 3 and 10 every year, the controversies surrounding autism usually involve the mysteries behind the staggering rise of diagnoses over the past five years. A proper understanding of how to work with and against autism and autism spectrum disorders allows patients to seek the necessary treatment and move on to live happy, productive and stable existences.

FAMILY DINNER LINKED TO BETTER GRADES FOR TEENS
(September 13, 2005) ABCNews.com reports that many families find evening meals almost impossible to schedule. However, studies show a regular family dinner, according to a survey by Columbia University, is more likely to help teens make better grades in school and much less likely to have substance abuse problems.

CALDWELL COLLEGE LAUNCHES PHD IN AUTISM TREATMENT
(November 17, 2009) The Star Ledger: New Jersey’s autism rate is higher than the national average with one out of every 94 children diagnosed with autism according to the Center for Disease Control. Since many parents cannot find adequate treatment for their children, especially ABA trained professionals, Caldwell College will offer the first PhD program of its kind in New Jersey.

AUTISM TEST IN CHILDREN MAY TURN TO EYES
(November 19, 2009) Stltoday.com: University of Missouri at Columbia researchers conducted a study using changes of light to diagnose children with autism. The test shows 92.5 percent accuracy in predicting the children that had autism.

FRANCIS RELEASES THREE PUBLICATIONS
(November 22, 2009) Dore Francis, MA, Horizon Family Solutions, Bend, OR, 541-312-4420, has recently released three new publications: A newly updated Low Cost Treatment Programs Reference List, a new Home Values & Home Contract Booklet and the new 2009 - 2010 Advocacy Journal for Placements and Services of Adolescents and Young Adults at Risk.

PSYCHIATRIC SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES PSI PATRIOT SUPPORT
(November 23, 2009) Andrew R. Laning, II, CMSgt, USAF (Retired) Executive Director of Military Affairs, 719-213-3628 or 800-888-1088, announced Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. has launched an expanded program: PSI Patriot Support to provide behavioral health services to military members and their families at PSI facilities around the country. Joey Jacobs, Chairman, President and CEO of Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. stated “We are proud that PSI Patriot Support will be able to help with a number of stressrelated issues that are increasingly common. We are amazed at the strength and resiliency of our military and all of us owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifices.”

DOG TRAINING IN AUSTRALIA FOR TROUBLED TEENS
(November 24, 2009) ABC Rural reports a project based in Australia is helping male teens train farm working dogs to jump, with one of the dogs holding the Australian dog jumping record of about three meters. Coordinator of Paws Up says the program takes boys off the streets and gets them out of town where a lot of trouble occurs late at night or on the weekends, creating positive opportunities for them.

LETTER FROM ASPEN PRESIDENT
(November 24, 2009) Phil Herschman, President, Aspen Education Group, Cerritos, CA, has issued a letter to the referring professional community about the recent closure of Mount Bachelor Academy in Prineville, OR. To view this in its entirety, please visit the struggling teens’ website. For additional information contact Patty Evans, Sr. Vice President of Business Development for Aspen Education Group at 760-918-8703.

SUMMIT PREP STUDENTS SHARE STORIES
(November 25, 2009) Two recently graduated students of Summit Preparatory School, Kalispell, MT, were guest speakers in the 7th and 8th grade classrooms at West Valley Elementary School in Kalispell as part of Red Ribbon Week, sharing with the students the work they had to do to get their lives back on track. Both students graduated Summit Prep on November 23 and plan to attend college. For more information on Summit Prep, contact Barbara Cunningham, EdD, Admissions and Guidance at 406-758-8139. EAGALA’S 11TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULED (November 26, 2009) Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA), Santaquin, UT, 877-858-4600, will be hosting their 11th Annual Conference in Layton, UT, on March 3-6, 2010. The full details on the conference and online registration are now available online.

BOULDER CREEK TEACHER HONORED
(November 26, 2009) Claude Bisson, Humanities and Social Science teacher at Boulder Creek Academy, Bonners Ferry, ID, recently received the Idaho Teacher of the Year Award from the Idaho Human Rights Education Center for “promoting and fostering an environment of tolerance and equality through an emphasis on global and local awareness.”

NAPSEC’S ANNUAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE IN JANUARY
(November 30, 2009) Sherry L. Kolbe, Executive Director/CEO of the National Association of Private Special Education Centers, Washington, DC, 202-408-3338, shared that NAPSEC will hold their Annual Leadership Conference on Captiva Island in Florida, January 17- 20, 2010, at the South Seas Island Resort. NAPSEC represents private special education programs across the country and the membership consists of early intervention services, schools, residential therapeutic centers and adult living and college experience programs.

BREWER EARNS CEP
(November 30, 2009) The Rome News Tribune reports Ivy Brewer, Associate Dean of College Guidance at Darlington, has earned the designation of Certified Educational Planner. Ivy has a Master of Education degree from Florida Gulf Coast University and has been with Darlington since 2007. Prior to Darlington, Ivy worked at Seacrest Country Day School and St. Catherine’s School.

SCHOOL CONNECTION WORKSHOP IN SAN DIEGO
(November 30, 2009) School Connections, will be offering a therapeutic schools and educational consultants workshop in San Diego, CA, February 15-17, 2010. The School Connections Workshops offers individual meetings between educational consultants and admission representatives from schools across the United States. In addition, there will be a follow up workshop in Baltimore, MD, on June 3-4, 2010. Registrations are available online or contact Patrick Finn at 443-564-1809.

DEGNENS NEW OWNERS OF CENTER FOR SAFE YOUTH, LLC
(November 30, 2009) Center for Safe Youth is excited to announce a transition in ownership. Tim and Sally Degnen have taken over as owners of CSY.CSY founder John Villines, his wife Cathy and Tim Degnen have been the ownership group for the past five years and John and Cathy have been reducing their roles at CSY over the past couple of years as John’s security consulting business has grown and as Cathy has prepared to embark on a new venture. Center for Safe Youth, LLC, has a new mailing address and fax number: Center for Safe Youth, LLC, PO Box 81786, Athens, GA 30608; phone: 888-677-7233/706-613-9007 and fax 706-243-6403.

WILDERNESS QUEST SUSPENDS OPERATIONS UNTIL SPRING
(November 30, 2009) Jennifer Whipple, Wilderness Quest, Monticello, UT, 435-587-2801, announced the program will suspend operations until after the New Year. Wilderness Quest will then resume operations on February 10, 2010. An admissions director will be available continuously through this period of time to answer questions and help parents. Wilderness Quest would like to thank you all for your support and we look forward to providing exceptional services to you and your families for years to come.

SIMPSON AND BRINKMAN VISIT WOODBURY REPORTS
(December 2009) Rich Simpson, Owner of Argentina Pathways, located in Bariloche, Argentina, and David Brinkman, Owner of Brinkman House in Bonners Ferry, stopped by Woodbury Reports to share news with Lon Woodbury about their new collaboration: Pathways Home and Abroad.

NEW SUMMIT ACADEMY FAMILY WORKSHOP WEEKEND
(December 1, 2009) Heather Tracy, Executive Director at New Summit Academy Costa Rica, Atenas, Costa Rica, 414-921-1388, shared that they welcomed 10 families to campus for a 4 day workshop during Thanksgiving. The theme was conflict resolution in preparation for many students’ first home visits over the holidays. In addition, each family prepared a special family recipe for the group’s Thanksgiving dinner.

FORMER V3 TUCSON RESIDENTS GRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOL
(December 2, 2009) Shannon Standen, V3 Tucson, Tucson, AZ, 520-299-4787, announced four graduates from V3 Tucson were also graduates from the University of Arizona’s Eller Business School, class of 2009.

COLLEGE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM ANNOUNCES SUMMER PROGRAMS
(December 2, 2009) The College Internship Program (CIP), Lee, MA, 877-566-9247, has announced their upcoming summerprogram dates for 2010: These two week sessions will be offered at Indiana University at Bloomington and Florida Institute of Technology from June 18 to July 2, 2010; at UC, Berkeley, from July 2 to July 16, 2010, and at Westfield State College in MA, from July 18 to August 1, 2010. These summer programs are for teens ages 16-19 with learning differences, diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome, ADHD, nonverbal learning disorder, high functioning autism, dyslexia or other learning differences.

CIP IS ASPERGER’S GATEWAY TO HIGHER EDUCATION
(December 2, 2009) The New England Psychologist website reports The College Internship Program (CIP), comprised of four campuses in Melbourne, FL, Bloomington, IN, Berkeley, CA, and Lee, MA, provides specialized academic, internship and independent living experiences for post-high school young adults with Asperger’s, high-functioning autism and learning differences.

SEDF PRESENTS ASPERGER’S PRESENTATION
(December 2, 2009) Jon Hed, Student Educational Development Fund (SEDF) Benefit Coordinator, Lee, MA, 413-243-0710 ext. 22, announced the SEDF, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial aid to LD students and training to LD educators, will be presenting the 2010 SEDF Benefit featuring Dr. Stephen Shore, author of “Autism for Dummies and Beyond the Wall” on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. This presentation will be held at the Cranwell Resort in Lenox, MA. Call for more information.

DR. HANS RESIGNS AT KING GEORGE SCHOOL
(December 2, 2009) Beth Rowley, Director of Client Relations at King George School, Sutton, VT, 800-218-5122, announced Dr. David Hans has stepped down as Head of School as of December 11, 2009. Dr. Hans guided the King George School for the last 18 months.

OPEN SKY’S DR. KETTLE ON THE RADIO
(December 2, 2009) Danny Frazer, Business Development and Marketing Director for Open Sky Wilderness Therapy, Durango, CO, 970-382-8181, shared that Dr. Nicola Kettle, Wellness Director, was on Fort Lewis College public radio’s show, Health Talk, on December 2, discussing the role of naturopathic medicine in the healing process at Open Sky. Dr. Kettle is a licensed naturopathic doctor with a BA in International Health from Brown University and a doctorate from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine.

NAWA ACADEMY FEATURED
(December 3, 2009) Jason Hull, Director of Development and Marketing for Nawa Academy, French Gulch, CA, 800-358-6292, announced Nawa Academy was recently featured on a website: anewscafe.com. Nawa Academy, is a non-traditional, non-therapeutic boarding school that nurtures students in an environment that emphasizes teaching based on individual abilities and learning styles and provides students with learning differences such as dyslexia, ADHD and dysgraphia (the inability to write caused by cerebral lesion) with an environment where they can succeed.

TIMBER RIDGE CLOSED 2009
(December 4, 2009) Marcia Pearson, Executive Director at Timber Ridge Preparatory School for Girls in Clark Fork, ID, 208-777-1615, announced with sadness that Timber Ridge Preparatory School for Girls will be closing at the end of the year. The closure is due to a sharp decline in enrollments in 2009 attributable to the poor economy. In addition she shared that Timber Ridge was a labor of love and she will miss serving the girls.

PASADENA VILLA OPENS SMOKY MOUNTAIN LODGE
(December 4, 2009) David Nissen, MBA, FACHE, VP and Managing Director at Pasadena Villa, 877-845-5235, announced Pasadena Villa has opened Smoky Mountain Lodge, Pasadena Villa’s newest adult residential facility in eastern TN, featuring Pasadena Villa’s Social Integration ModelSM in conjunction with traditional therapies to serve clients nationwide. Situated on ten acres, this recently renovated co-ed facility features 29 private bedrooms and baths, vast program activity space and state of the art dining facilities, all with views of Great Smoky Mountain National Park located minutes away.

BERTRAM CONSULTANTS ATTEND FUNDRAISER
(December 4, 2009) Jeremy McGeorge, Director of Special Needs Services at Bertram Educational Consultants, Shelburne Falls, MA, 413-207-1141, CT office: 203-255-2577, shared that he and Cammie Bertram (from Bertram Educational Consultants) attended a fundraiser in New York City at the Green Depot, for the Green Schools Alliance, a project of Global Environmental Options. The Green Schools Alliance is a non-profit group created by schools for schools, to work with pre-K through grade 12 in schools worldwide to meet their energy and sustainability goals, raise environmental awareness, and empower students, as well as faculty and staff.

ERDMANN JOINS FULSHEAR RANCH ACADEMY
(December 4, 2009) Ashley Auchterlonie, Director of Marketing at Fulshear Ranch Academy, Needville, TX, 281-414-3026 (Mobile), announced Dale Erdmann, LCSW, DCSW, has joined the clinical team at Fulshear Ranch Academy. Dale has spent over 40 years working with adolescents with complex emotional and behavioral issues. Most recently, Dale was a primary therapist at Island View Residential Treatment Center and Aspen Institute. Dale is well known and respected in our industry, most notably for his work with adopted students and their families.

SUNRISE CLINICAL TEAM TRAINED IN DBT
(December 4, 2009) Ashley Auchterlonie, Director of Marketing at Sunrise RTC in Hurricane, UT, announced the full clinical team at Sunrise recently completed foundational training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) by Behavioral Tech. This advanced level of training provides each therapist with an array of skills necessary to effectively treat girls with mood disorders and Borderline Personality Disorder.

RUNAWAY TEENS RETURN HOME
(December 5, 2009) The Science Daily reports that a new study done by UCLA has found stereotypes of homeless youth inaccurate--two/thirds of the youth return home shortly if they keep peer and parent contact.

MEMORIAL HERMANN INVOLVED IN RESEARCH
(December 7, 2009) Memorial Hermann, Houston, TX, 713-222-2273, the UT Medical School at Houston and the Houston Rockets are teaming up to proactively treat what has become, in recent years, the number one killer among our youth athletes - sudden cardiac arrest. HEARTS ™, which stands for Houston Early Age Risk Testing and Screening, is a study and program designed to detect any abnormal heart conditions that can cause the heart to arrest.

LEADING AUTISM ORGS USE NEW TECHNOLOGY
(December 7, 2009) Jamie Pagliaro, Executive Vice President at Rethink Autism, New York, NY, 646-257-2919 ext.205, announced their partnership with Autism Speaks to deliver two free, live webinars entitled “What You Need to Know, an orientation for parents and family members of children recently diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.” This is the first collaboration between Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy group, and Rethink Autism, an innovative online autism treatment platform, to help Families Bridge the critical time gap from the point of diagnosis to the beginning of treatment.

VALLEY VIEW HIRES WORLD CLASS CHEF
(December 7, 2009) Rick Bulger, Associate Director at Valley View School, North Brookfield, MA, 508-867-6505, is thrilled to report that Valley View School has recently acquired, by a quirk of luck, a brand new and very creative head chef, Jean-Louis Marty, who took over as the head of kitchen position upon the moving on of their former head. Having served for many years as Executive Chef at a number of Hilton Hotels, Jean-Louis worked in a very prestigious French Restaurant and Country Club, lived in France for a number of years and studied at the Culinary Institute de Peu-France.

GET KIDS BACK IN TOUCH WITH NATURE
(December 8, 2009) The University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, UK, Professor Jules Pretty and a team of experts have created a 10 point plan to put children back in touch with nature, tackle the growing problem of obesity and save society millions of pounds. This 10 point plan includes encouraging more outdoor play for young children, planners to incorporate green space as a fundamental right for all people and a better evaluation and assessment of the benefits of outdoor play to people and the economy.

AUTISM SEEN AS ASSET IN SOME JOBS
(December 8, 2009) According to MSNBC.com, the non-profit Chicago company, Aspiritech, recently launched a pilot program to train high-functioning autistics as testers for software development companies. “The stuff we do is boring (for others), like going through a program looking at every detail, testing the same function over and over again in different situations, but it doesn’t disturb those of us with autism as that’s our strength,“ says Thomas Jacobsen, an autistic employee at Specialisterne.

RANCH LIFE HEALING SOULS OF TROUBLED TEENS
(December 9, 2009) ArticlesFactory.com reports on Sorenson’s Ranch School in Koosharem, UT. They have over 30 years in business helping troubled teens. They claim they offer an effective healing program where youngsters living in a picturesque spot at a teen ranch are involved in farming, learning to care for animals, planting crops, camping, hiking and fishing.

RUSH JOINS NEW LEAF ACADEMY
(December 9, 2009) New Leaf Academy in Bend, OR, 877-820-5050, a therapeutic boarding school for girls ages 10 to 14, recently appointed Sarah Casson Rush as its new Admissions Director.

PTSD SHOW LESS ACTIVITY IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS
(December 9, 2009) Ivanhoe Newswire: A new study lead by Dr. Carrion is the first to give direct evidence that children with symptoms of posttraumatic stress suffer poor function of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for storing and retrieving memories.

SCIENTISTS CHALLENGE DARWIN’S THEORY
(December 9, 2009) The Science Daily reports that researchers from the UC, Berkeley, are concluding that humans are wired to emphasize compassion and collaboration more than selfishness.

ST. PAUL’S ACADEMY CLOSES
(December 9, 2009) Rob Button, Headmaster at St. Paul’s Academy, Phoenix, AZ, announced on their website, with deep regret, that the Board of Trustees of St. Paul’s Preparatory Academy has voted to close the school’s program at the conclusion of the third block. School will remain in session until December 24, 2009. This decision was a result of the school’s weak financial condition.

CAN GAMING CHANGE EDUCATION?
(December 9, 2009) eSchool News: With the popularity of video games continuing to permeate our culture, schools and students are increasingly interested in using video games for learning. New research on gaming design and brain plasticity offers more perspectives on educational gaming.

JONES NEW HEAD OF SCHOOL AT KING GEORGE
(December 10, 2009) King George School in Sutton, VT, is pleased to announce Gerard Jones has accepted the position of Head of School. Gerard has been affiliated with the school for the past 4 years as a member of the executive management team. You may reach him at 800-218-5122 or by email.

COOPERRIIS OPENS NEW URBAN CENTER JANUARY 2010
(December 10, 2009) Virgil Stucker, Executive Director at CooperRiis, Mill Spring, NC, 828-899-4673, is excited to announce that they are opening their new Urban Center, completing a year’s renovation, after raising about five million dollars for this new campus. It is located next to the UNC in Asheville and will be ideally suited for adults who are recovering from serious mental illness.

DR. HANS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR BROMLEY BROOK
(December 10, 2009) Karen E. Fitzhugh, PhD, Senior Vice President -Northeast Division Aspen Education Group, 802-592-3344, announced Dr. David Hans will be joining Bromley Brook as the new Executive Director on December 14, 2009. Dr. Hans was most recently the Head of School at the King George School in northern VT. Prior to that, he was at Albuquerque Academy in NM, a traditional private preparatory school where he served in a senior position in their clinical department.

DECK HOUSE CONGRATULATES DR. BROWNE
(December 11, 2009) Tom Blackford, Headmaster at the Deck House, Edgecomb, ME, 207-882-7055, is pleased to congratulate Assistant Headmaster Melinda Browne on the successful defense of her doctoral thesis at the University of Exeter in Devon, England. Dr. Browne has been with The Deck House School for 10 years.

CEDAR RIDGE RESPONDS TO STAFF ABUSE CHARGES
(December 11, 2009) Woodbury Reports, Bonners Ferry, ID, 208-267-5550, received a letter from Sean Haggerty, Admissions at Cedar Ridge Academy, Roosevelt, UT, 435-353-4498 ext. 117, informing us that a former employee of Cedar Ridge has been charged with sexual abuse of two students enrolled and allegations he provided medications to students illegally.

KUHN VP OF ADULT SERVICES AT ROSECRANCE
(December 11, 2009) Rosecrance Health Network, Rockford, IL, 888-928-5278, announced the appointment of Keith Kuhn as Vice President of Adult Services. For the last four years, Mr. Kuhn has served as the community/ executive director of Gateway Foundation in Springfield, IL. His extensive work history includes being director of outpatient programs, vice president of operations and behavioral health director. He is the recent past president of the Central Illinois Recovery Coalition and has more than 18 years in the field of addictions treatment.

PARENT COMMENTS TO BOOK REVIEW- AN UNCHANGED MIND
(December 12, 2009)Woodbury Reports, Bonners Ferry, ID, 208-267-5550, recently received a letter from a parent with a 17 year old son who is attending a therapeutic boarding school and had some positive comments on the book review of “An Unchanged Mind,” which was recently in the Woodbury Reports.

VARDELL AND BULLOCH TO LEAD ASPEN INSTITUTE
(December 14, 2009) Mark Dorenfeld, Senior VP, Western Division, Aspen Education Group, 626-358-6584, announced that effective January 1, 2010, Don Vardell, MS, will become Executive Director at Aspen Institute for Behavioral Assessment in Syracuse, UT. Vardell is the current Executive Director of neighboring Island View Residential Treatment Center and will maintain those duties along with his new position. In addition, Mike Bulloch, LCSW, current Clinical Director for the Institute, has been promoted to Associate Executive Director. Current Executive Director and founder, Dr. Jared Balmer – who also founded Aspen Education Group’s Island View RTC and the Oakley School – will be leaving the facility to pursue other interests.

DELGADO ON INTERNET RADIO
(December 14, 2009) Certified Addictions Professional and street certified professional Luis A. Delgado (Dope Doctor), from Orlando, FL, hosts a weekly radio program called The Coach Live radio and TV program. This program focuses on all issues related to addiction and recovery and airs noon to 1PM Eastern Standard Time. Call-ins are welcome.

NEW ROADS TREATMENT CENTER HOSTS OPEN HOUSE
(December 14, 2009) Staci Bradley, Director of Admissions at New Roads Treatment Center, Provo, UT, 801-910-9329– cell, shared with us that New Roads Treatment Center held a holiday open house at their young adult treatment center on December 18, 2009.

ECKERD AT DEER LODGE HORSEMANSHIP PROGRAM
(December 15, 2009) Micha M. Mathis, Admissions/Client Relations Coordinator for Eckerd at Deer Lodge, Deer Lodge, TN, 706-747-1082 ext 228 or 678-617-0702-cell, announced Eckerd at Deer Lodge has teamed up with Cedar Creek Cattle Company to offer a 12-week horsemanship class working with domesticated horses and wild Mustangs. The challenge is to teach the horses to follow basic commands and complete such tasks as loading on and off a trailer and backing into a stall.

ILDERNESS STUDENTS APPRECIATE MEANING OF HOLIDAYS
(December 16, 2009) Aspen Achievement Academy, Loa, UT, 800-283-8334, reports that the most meaningful and memorable holiday of a young person’s life can be spent at wilderness camp. Gil Hallows, MS, Executive Director, states “It is so impactful to be away from home, especially during a major holiday like Christmas or Hanukkah. Our students gain a real appreciation for the things they’ve always taken for granted - their traditions, their loved ones and the comforts of home.”

JOHNSON TO SERVE ON CHILD WELFARE LEAGUE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
(December 16, 2009) Barbara Cunningham, EdD, Admissions and Guidance for Summit Preparatory School, Kalispell, MT, 406-758-8139, shared Summit Prep is proud to be a member of the Child Welfare League of America, whose mission is to build public will to ensure safety and well-being for children, youth and their families. Executive Director, Rick Johnson, MSW, has been asked to serve on the National Residential Advisory Committee and will attend their next meeting in January 2010, in Washington, D.C.

LEARNING STYLES DEBUNKED
(December 16, 2009) Kevin Sisson, Association for Psychological Science, 202-293-9300 ext. 117, reports according to a new report published this month in “Psychological Science in the Public Interest” (a journal of the Association for Psychological Science) there is no scientific research that really supports the existence of different learning styles or the hypothesis that people learn better when taught in a way that matches their own unique style. To read this article in full, please visit the struggling teens’ website.

BCA STUDENTS EXTEND THEIR HANDS TO THE COMMUNITY
(December 17, 2009) Shawnale Wilson, Director of Admissions at Boulder Creek Academy, Bonners Ferry, ID, 877-348-0848, shared with us some of the many ways the students at BCA are reaching out to the community with service projects and community service. These include: volunteering at the community kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, providing firewood to the elderly, helping with refereeing for local sports teams and working at the local animal shelter. In addition, one student earned his Eagle Scout rank by building and stocking honey bee hives.

INTREPID CCBS FAMILIES THRIVE IN HURRICANE IDA’S RAINS
(December 2009) Beth Venable, Cherokee Creek Boys School, Westminster, SC, 864-647-1885, shared that recently during a Family Trek (in which families and their boys spend four days and nights participating in an outdoor adventure) twelve families braved the rains of Hurricane Ida and “persevered and prevailed” the unplanned challenge, switching gears to enjoy whitewater rafting since “they were getting wet anyway.”

DECK HOUSE ACCEPTED INTO NAIS
(December 17, 2009) Tom Blackford, Headmaster at the Deck House School, Edgecomb, ME, 207-882-7055 or 207-441-7415-cell, announced The Deck House School has just received notice of full membership in NAIS: National Association of Independent Schools.

RYAN JOINS VIVE AS NEW VP OF SALES
(December 17, 2009) Vive, Inc, Boulder, CO, announced Kelly Ryan, LMFT, has recently joined Vive as the new Vice President of Sales. Kelly had previously held the position of National Liaison for Aspen Education Group for the past 11 years, involved in program development, quality assurance, integration of systems and customer service, as well as program start-ups and acquisitions.

STICC MERGES WITH ALLDREDGE FAMILY FOUNDATION
(December 17, 2009) John Reuben, President and Founder of Saving Teens in Crisis Collaborative, Sudbury, MA, 877-249-1336, announced Saving Teens in Crisis Collaborative is expanding in order to serve even more families and has recently merged with the Alldredge Family Foundation (AFF), a charitable organization also dedicated to supporting struggling teens and their families. AFF and its program have now merged with and will operate under the name of Saving Teens® In Crisis Collaborative (STICC). To learn more contact John Reuben.

HAYES SIX-MONTH-OLD TWINS
(December 18, 2009) Kristen Hayes, Communications Director for Aspen Education Group, recently shared some pictures of her six month old twin baby girls: Haylee Grace on the left and Taylor Nicole on the right. Thank you Kristen, they are adorable! {Photo}

AUDIO TRAINING HELPS DYSLEXICS
(May 1, 2008) Science Daily reports children with dyslexia are unable to process fast changing sounds. Audio training teaches children how to process these sounds and improves their ability to “manipulate words and their phonic components.” This translates into better reading.

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST TO HEAD FFS COUNSELING
(December 21, 2009) Emmanuel Argiros, President of The Family Foundation School, Hancock, NY, 845-887-5213, has named Mark P. Vogel, PhD, Director of Counseling for the school. Vogel has more than 30 years’ experience as a private clinical psychologist and is a skilled child, adolescent and family therapist. His specialties include parent/teenage relations, teen alcohol and drug issues, learning disabilities, diagnostic testing and psychological and vocational assessments. He is a frequent consultant to attorneys, courts and schools on psycho educational issues and has been a consulting psychologist at FFS since 2007.

FAMILY FOUNDATION SCHOOL GRADUATES 20
(December 21, 2009) Ann Janauer, Principal at The Family Foundation School, Hancock, NY, announced that twenty seniors received New York State Regents diplomas at midyear graduation ceremonies on December 12. An additional five FFS students completed the school’s character education program and returned home to complete high school. According to Janauer, 19 of the graduates have been admitted to 2 or 4-year colleges beginning in January or next fall, while one remains undecided.

ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL HOSTS FAMILY FOUNDATION STUDENTS
(December 21, 2009) Jeff Brain, VP for External Affairs at The Family Foundation School, 845-887-5213, announced that 16 Family Foundation School students attended a holiday celebration as guests of the Youngsville School in Sullivan County (NY) in December. The Family School students shared music, activities and their stories of recovery with the alternative school students during the holiday party. Youngsville previously hosted FFS during Drug Awareness Week in October.