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History
It began with
Burrhus Frederic Skinner, who is the spiritual father for a growing
industry. It is his theory about the
Skinner box, the
parents who enrolls children in these facilities use. A child, who is
isolated from the outside world, would not inflict damages on him- or
her-self.
Around 1970 did the first school open -
Provo Canyon
School. This school or the better word for it behavior modification
facility has been closed several times due to orders from the authorities,
but continues to reopen and are in fact still in business today - primarily
due to the demand.
CEDU - another of the pioneers in the business, joined the business on
another concept. Where Provo Canyon School drugged the children, CEDU in the
early years did encourage the children to skip medicine. CEDU, which
consisted of several facilities and wilderness therapy programs, closed in
2005, but people are working to reopen one of these places of horror. People
like Paris Hilton and children of
Barbara Walters,
Rosesanne Barr were
sent there, because their parents did not have the time to guide them
through the difficult years being a teenager. The founder of CEDU - Mel
Wasserman - was involved in Synanon
before he started CEDU, which were closed by the IRS.
The two major players in the business are Aspen Education Group and World
Wide Association of Special Schools and Programs (WWASP). The both started
back in the 80'es when the industry boomed due to increased need
self-fulfillment among the adults, which meant less time for the children.
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Program types
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| BC |
Boot Camp |
Boot camps have been part of the correctional and
penal system of the United States since the early 1980's. Modeled
after military
recruit training camps, the programs are based on shock
incarceration grounded on military techniques. Participants
typically engage in military-style exercises and marching. Facilities
may be residential or "day camps" and may serve a wide range of ages. It
is common to find educational and counseling components among such
programs. In the recent years the number of Boot camps has declined and
several places they have been closed due to deaths [1].
The remaining camp in Florida is "voluntary". |
| TBS |
Therapeutic Boarding School |
Another word for such a facility is a behavior modification
facility (or Youth Residential Program). It is a private,
residential educational institution to which parents send adolescents
who are perceived as displaying asocial behavior, in an attempt to alter
their conduct. A number of therapeutic boarding schools are operated
in the
United States, with others operating in
Mexico,
Jamaica
and
Costa Rica primarily for the children of U.S. residents. The most
notable organizations operating such programs is the
World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP)
operating facilities such as
Tranquility Bay, the
Spring Creek Lodge Academy and
Aspen Education Group.
The
behavior modification methodologies used vary, but a combination of
positive and negative reinforcement is typically used. Positive
reinforcement mechanisms include points, rewards and signs of status,
while negative reinforcement may include time-outs, point deductions,
reversal of status, prolonged stays at a facility, physical restraint,
or even
corporal punishment. |
| RBS |
Religious Boarding School |
While marketed as a loving but structured environment, the reality
is often a strict regime involving "quiet rooms" aka. rooms meant for
isolation, some of them with tapes running 24/7 with prayers. Some of
the programs use corporal punishment. A lot of these homes are built
after a model developed by the
Roloff homes. |
| WT |
Wilderness Therapy |
Wilderness therapy is a form of
outdoor education treatment that relies on the natural aspects of a
primitive outdoor sojourn. Like
adventure therapy and
boot camps, wilderness therapy is often used for
behavior modification by the families of young people. But the aims
and methods of wilderness therapy don't center on behavior modification.
Unlike
adventure therapy, wilderness therapy programs avoid what they view
as manipulations, contrived activities, psychological games, and
contrived consequences.
The industry are frequently hit by new regulations due to deaths. See
a typical story [2]. |
| SC |
Summer Camp |
Holiday option for parents, who wants time off from their children.
Unregulated area. |
| WL |
Weight loss camp or boarding school |
Facilities also common called "fat-camps". Weekly weight loss is
rewarded, none punished by exercise and extreme lean food-intake. |
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Deaths
Misc. death, which have to be
investigated further in order to find hidden and secret prisons for
children. Beware: None of these lists are conclusive because most cases are
settled out of court, so new potential clients are not scared off.
I am just a kid - death list
no. 1
Teen advocate
USA - death list no. 2
Caica - list of deaths - death list no. 3 |
References
1)
Boot Camps Abolished in Florida", Mike Vasilinda, WJHG
2)
Loving them to
death, Jon Krakauer, Outside Magazine, October 1995 |
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