SUCCESS STORY: Dad of 14-year-old Son
LIFE BEFORE THE PROGRAM: Prior to Healthy Foundations, I had spent the better part of eight years trying to find the right kind of help for my son. During those years my son has been diagnosed with Autism, Tourette’s Syndrome, MDD, DMDD, IED, ADHD and ODD. Life at home was a nightmare with several calls to the police asking for help with a violent kid. Counselors and therapistS kept telling me that I was doing the best I could and that I wasn’t doing anything wrong. At the same time, my son was getting worse.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM: Upon his release from a residential habilitation facility, I was fortunate to get my son and family enrolled in the Healthy Foundations (HF) Family 90 Day Program. This is a program where trained staff come into the home for 2-3 hours at a time for up to 3 times a week. The HF plan is simple but very dynamic. It basically focuses on establishing the parent as being in charge, it teaches the child to respect the parent, it teaches the child to take instruction and to follow a daily schedule. During the first 30 days the child agrees to absolutely no electronics or phone use of any kind. The child agrees to doing common household chores and to take instruction without pushback. Parents learn not to threaten or meet anger with anger. Parents learn to give the child space when they escalate. Parents and child slowly learn to respect each other. Parents learn to be consistent and fair in their instructions and don’t give in to the child’s manipulation or temper tantrums. The benefit of HF staff coming into the home was as negative situations came up they were able to provide the necessary help and instruction to help both the child and parent to overcome the negative and move forward with a more positive result. The staff was always able to listen, work with and help.
At the end of the Program: The results have been amazing. My son went from having no hope in life and believing that there was no one who could help him to now having a vision of hope and accomplishment. Has this been a smooth transition for my son? Absolutely not! But now that we all have the tools to move forward, it has made my son’s recovery from bad behavior possible. He still has issues but is proud of what he has accomplished and is looking forward to a better more productive life. He now has a vision for what he wants in life rather than believing that he was a complete failure. Since starting the HF program my son has not been violent once. He now works very hard a keeping himself under control. He now does his chores automatically and sticks to his written daily schedule.
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND IT: I would urge other parents with troubled kids to consider this program. Most other consultants and therapists focus only on the child and not the parents. It is too much and in my opinion unfair to the child to put the focus only on the child and their behavior. Success comes when the family as a whole works together to overcome the trauma of the past. Most parents want to do their best and get the best help for their kids but by not having the right tools they are actually in a downward spiral that too many times only leads to tragedy. The HF program allows the child to build the confidence and strength to overcome past behavior and the parents to have the tools and confidence to help their child succeed in life.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM: Upon his release from a residential habilitation facility, I was fortunate to get my son and family enrolled in the Healthy Foundations (HF) Family 90 Day Program. This is a program where trained staff come into the home for 2-3 hours at a time for up to 3 times a week. The HF plan is simple but very dynamic. It basically focuses on establishing the parent as being in charge, it teaches the child to respect the parent, it teaches the child to take instruction and to follow a daily schedule. During the first 30 days the child agrees to absolutely no electronics or phone use of any kind. The child agrees to doing common household chores and to take instruction without pushback. Parents learn not to threaten or meet anger with anger. Parents learn to give the child space when they escalate. Parents and child slowly learn to respect each other. Parents learn to be consistent and fair in their instructions and don’t give in to the child’s manipulation or temper tantrums. The benefit of HF staff coming into the home was as negative situations came up they were able to provide the necessary help and instruction to help both the child and parent to overcome the negative and move forward with a more positive result. The staff was always able to listen, work with and help.
At the end of the Program: The results have been amazing. My son went from having no hope in life and believing that there was no one who could help him to now having a vision of hope and accomplishment. Has this been a smooth transition for my son? Absolutely not! But now that we all have the tools to move forward, it has made my son’s recovery from bad behavior possible. He still has issues but is proud of what he has accomplished and is looking forward to a better more productive life. He now has a vision for what he wants in life rather than believing that he was a complete failure. Since starting the HF program my son has not been violent once. He now works very hard a keeping himself under control. He now does his chores automatically and sticks to his written daily schedule.
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND IT: I would urge other parents with troubled kids to consider this program. Most other consultants and therapists focus only on the child and not the parents. It is too much and in my opinion unfair to the child to put the focus only on the child and their behavior. Success comes when the family as a whole works together to overcome the trauma of the past. Most parents want to do their best and get the best help for their kids but by not having the right tools they are actually in a downward spiral that too many times only leads to tragedy. The HF program allows the child to build the confidence and strength to overcome past behavior and the parents to have the tools and confidence to help their child succeed in life.
