Not long ago Gary Ferguson, author of the book Shouting at the Sky got in touch with nine of the twelve young people he first followed in 1998 at Aspen Achievement Academy. Of those nine former students, now 25-27 years old, seven considered the program the most significant experience of their lives. We now have the Keynote speech Gary gave at the NATSAP 2008 conference in Savannah, Georgia. In this address, Gary shares the journey of the students who he wrote about 10 years later after they finished the program. To watch the Keynote speech please visit http://bit.ly/gSO4YH.
Every parent of a wilderness student should watch this video. Gary captures the positive outcomes of wilderness therapy like only he can, by an in-depth and personal interview with these students ten years later. Gary discusses where they are in their lives now, the influence of Aspen Achievement Academy on their lives, and how the Aspen Achievement Academy experience was the defining moment in their development as an adult.
Aspen Achievement Academyis a wilderness therapy program located in the high desert of southern Utah that provides "at risk" adolescents ages 13 to 17 with experiences that promote the development of self-discipline, confidence, problem-solving skills and a healthy lifestyle. Using insight-oriented individual, group and family therapy and modern rites of passage, troubled teens identify healthy ways to bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood.
Aspen Achievement Academy is a program of Aspen Education Group, the nation's leading provider of therapeutic education programs for struggling or underachieving young people. Aspen's services range from short-term intervention programs to residential treatment, and include a variety of therapeutic settings such as boarding schools, outdoor behavioral health programs and special needs summer camps, allowing professionals and families the opportunity to choose the best setting to meet a student's unique academic and emotional needs.
Aspen Education Groupis a member of CRC Health Group, the most comprehensive network of specialized behavioral care services in the nation. For over two decades, CRC Health has been achieving successful outcomes for individuals and families.