Boarding School for ADHD

[Jauge]

I have a 16 year with ADD and anxiety. Does anyone knows a good therapeutic boarding school or summer program?

[DecaturDAD]

SOAR, in North Carolina, is awesome. The camp has been a great experience for my son! They run a boarding school as well.

[Crunchby]

Ugh, lmk if you find one! My daughter did go to SOAR camp this year. It is not a therapeutic camp, in that they do not have licensed health care professionals on staff, at least at camp..not sure about school. They say the staff are usually college age and in child education. My daughter's staff was a college Sr majoring in business and a gal who graduated from the program last year. They were both super great and high quality folks, but not therapists. They do have them go through a certain amount of training on ADHD kids, so they 'get' it and handle them better than camps who do not. SOAR runs around 4K for 15 days/average. All prices are on-line. I have looked for my 13 year old b/c of her ODD and anger issues. From my research, I've found most short-term (at least 6 weeks) therapy facilities to allow kids with drug abuse. This may not be as big of a deal as I think it might be...just have to talk to folks that run the program and ask them very direct questions. Like: would you room my ODD daughter with a cocaine abuser? There is a cool program in Hawaii (the big island) that does not allow drug abusers. They use outdoor/planting as therapy. The program and others like it are about 50K for the 6/8 weeks. That number took me a few phone calls to get. All out of pocket with some amount of reimbursement for licensed therapist sessions.

One option, I've considered is in-home therapy. Seems like it's hard to find someone, at least where I am, to do this. I wonder, is she/he going to a therapist currently?

Anyway, good luck in your search! Please message if you have any questions on the program in Hawaii.

[Hopemar in reply to Crunchby]

I have been worried about the same thing.....that the peers in some of these therapeutic boarding places could push my child father in the wrong direction. Thankfully no drug habit yet, but the last thing I want to do is have my child around people who have one, as I think these kids can be quick to pick up the worst habits of others.

[Crunchby in reply to Hopemar]

Exactly! Mine seems very much in charge of her decisions and choices, but in reality it's all a front and would be easily influenced to try drugs, especially since we don't want her to. Ugh

[coopha]

Talisman Camp in NC. Awesome summer programs!

[loulouAd]

I too am looking as my ADHD daughter is acting out with very risky behavior. I do not want this to escalate and am scared to death. I’ve hired an education consultant who suggested Wilderness Therapy camp in NC. I am strongly considering this option but am scared to death of what it will cost. But I am afraid I can’t keep her safe. I have looked them all up on line and recently met a 17 year old who went to Spring Ridge Academy. I don’t know what her issues are. My biggest issue is depression. It’s very scared to manage this on my own and too feel like I need help outside our home.

[Jauge in reply to loulouAd]

What is the name of the Wilderness Therapy Academy in NC? I am in the same scenario as you. Having a hard time finding the right place. It has been difficult finding group therapy also. I wish I he could talk to other kids having the same issues.

[Sillyfitgirl76 in reply to loulouAd]

I looked into wilderness program for my daughter and found that it runs about 50-60K for a three month program. That's a lot of money! We instead decided to use a company called Home Remedy here in Ohio which does in home therapy. Approximately 2-3 sessions a week and normally 2 hours each session. The social worker also acts as a case manager for her so she's able to advocate for her at school as well. The cost of this program is 11K for three months. That's still a lot of money but we are 3 weeks into it and I'm already starting to see positive changes in my daughter. She's 15 has ADHD, dyslexia and depression. Trust me I know how frustrating raising a daughter with ADHD can be. I was honestly to the point of thinking that I had no more options and then I found this program. It's going to be work on her end and mine but if it gets her on the right track it'll be worth it.

[Jauge in reply to Sillyfitgirl76]

I have a boy, but I heard of a boarding school in Florida for girls named Lakeland Girls Academy”.

[Crunchby in reply to loulouAd]

Wow, Spring Academy looks great, but I am not Bill Gates and can not afford the 9K per month...dang! Oh wait! you can possible deduct it from your taxes. LOL!

[Crunchby in reply to loulouAd]

Loulou, please let us know if you decided to go with the Wilderness Therapy camp in NC. They seem credible on-line, and have lots of credentialed staffers.

[Jauge]

Thank you. I’ll look for a similar program.

[Hopemar]

I don't think that there is necessarily a therapeutic aspect to it, in that I don't know if there are trained counselors, but there is a boarding school in Michigan called the Leelanau School that specializes in ADHD. I think they might be able to deal with the anxiety piece as most ADHD kids do also have anxiety,

[Jauge in reply to Hopemar]

Thank you!

[faithnbunny]

It’s a tough area to navigate. You may want to hire an education consultant to help you find the right fit.

[speranza_mom]

You may want to look into Mary Warren, she's works with parents and helps them find RTCs and programs . Her website is empower my teen and she's also on Facebook. My friend worked with her and she speaks super highly of her, she said she saved their daughter. I hope she's able to help you.

[Jauge in reply to speranza_mom]

Do you have a website? I can’t find her on web search.

[Jauge in reply to speranza_mom]

I found it . Thx!

[MinnMom]

I just heard a podcast about this on Tilt Parenting (which is such a great resource for parents of differently wired kiddos). tiltparenting.com/2023/08/0...

The guest was Sue Scheff Founder and President of Parents’ Universal Resource Experts Inc. (P.U.R.E.™). Her website helpyourteens.com has tons of resources about therapeutic boarding schools. She made a pretty convincing case against wilderness programs as a long-term solution.