Programs for Students in Crisis

Case Study

This is a fictional account of the kind of unfortunate situation that a family finds themselves in.

What happened to Jane? It seems like it happened overnight and yet if I reflect upon it, the change had been gradual over a year or more. She used to be such a wonderful kid. Smart, funny, a joy to have around. Always bubbly and willing to help. Her friends sought her counsel. Our friends marveled at her respectfulness and maturity. She was a good student and we got glowing reports about her performance and behavior from her teachers at every parent teacher conference. We felt ourselves so fortunate.

Then she went to high school. John and I were worried about the transition from middle school but Jane seemed to handle it seamlessly, at first. Then somehow things began to change, so slowly that we didn’t realize what was happening. She seemed to get so somber. She wouldn’t talk to us. She stayed in her room when she was home. She wanted to be with her friends all the time and we let her, thinking this was normal behavior for a teenager. We said, as long as she’s doing her homework and getting good grades, what’s the harm? Going out some became going out a lot and eventually to being away all the time. She claimed she was doing homework at friend’s houses. We didn’t like it but we let it happen. We believed her. She had always been so honest. Until one day, I was cleaning her room and found marijuana hidden in her dresser. John and I were angry and upset. We confronted her. She said she was just holding it for a friend, that of course she would never do it. She did admit she tried it once but didn’t like it. We wanted so to believe her, and so we did. A couple of months later we received a call from school. Jane was cutting classes. Then we got her report card. 1 C 3 D’s and an F. This from a student who had never gotten lower than a B. We sat down with her and she became angry and defiant. She told us to mind our own business, leave her alone and stormed out of the house. From then on it was hell. She wouldn’t listen to us, cursed us out. I cried myself to sleep too many nights. John and I started fighting about it. He wanted to throw her out of the house. She’s only 15 I implored; she’ll get over it. One night we caught her throwing up on the curb in front of our house. She was so drunk John had to carry her to her room. It was the last straw. We decided that night that something had to be done.

But what?

Over the next couple of days John surfed the internet looking for help. Meanwhile I started talking to my girlfriends. It was hard at first to tell them Jane was in trouble. To my surprise they were not only understanding but a couple of them had been going through the same thing. Mary suggested I call an Educational Consultant. I had no idea what they did but Mary told me they might be able to help. I called and we set up a meeting. The Ed. Consultant not only met with us but met with Jane as well. He reviewed all of her transcripts and teacher comments. He talked with other family members. He had her take a complete battery of tests. We discussed options and created two plans. The first was a lower level intervention that required Jane to see a Psychologist and for all of us to engage in family therapy. We tried this for some months but nothing seemed to change. She was as angry as ever and her grades were getting worse. Eventually the psychologist recommended we revisit the educational consultant. John and I agreed it was time for a more dramatic intervention. The consultant recommended we choose from a few wilderness programs to get Jane out of her current environment, get her sober and be able to get a baseline assessment. We were heartbroken but we agreed and the next day Jane was escorted to the middle of nowhere. It was the hardest thing we ever had to do. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that we knew we had made the right decision. Jane sent us a letter and it even made tough guy John cry. She apologized for her behavior, acknowledged that she had an addiction problem and was beginning to take responsibility for her actions. She wanted to come home of course but we had been warned by our consultant that it was highly unlikely that Jane would be able to turn her life around after a few short weeks in wilderness. It had served its purpose, getting her straight and starting the process of recovery. The therapist at the wilderness program and our consultant were in constant contact with each other and us during Jane’s stay. We all agreed that additional therapy would be necessary but that Jane was stable and not likely to run away. Our consultant recommended three programs and we visited them all. One seemed perfect.

Jane has been there for six months. We have visited her and exchanged many letters. It is like we have our old daughter back. She is happy again and we don’t fight. The school is on a ranch and Jane has learned how to ride a horse. She loves the outdoors. She has no interest in her former friends. She wants to come home but wants to go to a different school and is excited about her life again. On one such visit she told us that during the bad times, she almost died and thanked us for coming to her rescue and saving her life. That was the second time I saw John cry. But it was hard to see through my own tears.