Brehm Preparatory School
Tuesday, November 9th, 2004
Brehm Preparatory School
1245 E. Grand Ave.
Carbondale IL 62901
618-457-0371
admissionsinfo@brehm.org
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We are seeking to place our daughter at the Brehm school can anyone tell us if this school has a strong academic school program as well as a theraputic program? Our daughter had been at New Leaf Academy but it was not a strong LD school program it was more for students who needed emotional growth issues, so we had to take her out. We don’t want to make any more mistakes on finding the right school program. We welcome any advise Diana R.
Diana,
New Leaf and Brehm are very different schools. New Leaf is as you describe it. Brehm is a school for kids with more complex learning disabilities.
That doesn’t say whether it’s a good fit for your daughter though. How have you come to consider Brehm?
Diana,
Our daughter atteneded Brehm during the 2006-2007 academic year. The curriculum was not academically challenging for her. We were very disappointed with this progrm for many reasons, especially the behavior of other students. Be very careful–the supervision of students was not what we had anticipated.
We are looking for a residential school for our 16 year old to be son. His history is complex–mostly diagnosed with PDD nos, some aspergers, compulsive and often impulsive. Impulsivity has gotten him into trouble since he has poor judgement. He is sld (learning disabilities) and does very well in a language based school. He was asked to leave Pine Ridge School in Vt. which we loved for him. He really needs pragmatics language infused into a school program with tons of social skills reinforced and quite a bit of supervision in residential (dorms). He is a sweet young man who wants to do well and tries hard. We are hoping to find a residential high school. How is Brehm Academy? Anyone have any opinions about Cedars Academy? Wasnt terrible impressed.
Thank you for your help. We are anxious to have our son placed soon since he has been out of Pine Ridge since November and our school district is giving him “home instruction”. Whatever you can offer is so greatly appreciated. Grove School in CT and the Learning Clinic in CT would not accept our son because of his impulsivity.
Toby Carsons
Toby,
Without asking for too much personal information about your son to be public, it’s notable that both Grove and the Learning Clinic, both places for kids with more serious behavioral issues would not accept him. His impulsivity must be pretty severe.
That, coupled with his being asked to leave Pine Ridge, makes me wonder if Brehm is even in the right category. I don’t know Cedars.
Good luck.
Sandford,
I hope you are wrong. Our psychiatrist who has worked with our son and family believes that his impulsivity should not be confused with the fact that he is not ODD, aggressive but good natured, caring and determined to work hard and achieve for himself. His social skills are really lacking and he can get compulsive and act without thinking. H really needs pragmatic language skills as well. Judgement is lacking. He is of average intelligence and we would hate to put him in a school with TBI or autism, or even behavioral severe issues as a big population when those are not his issues.
I wish I could be more detailed about the situtaion with Jared but can’t in this forum
Do you know kids that go to Brehm? Are parents out there happy with this school for pragmatics, social skills, and academics? Is supervision in the dorms good?
Toby Carsons
Toby, feel free to contact me offline.
I understand that his impulsivity is neurologically based and intertwined with a lack of social thinking/reasoning skills. Brehm as far as I understand, definitely does work with kids with complex learning disabilities who need some pragmatics component to their day.
Toby,
How would you qualify “good” supervision in the dorms? Our experience with the “tier level” system to reward positive behavior was that it was not enforced to the degree we were led to believe. Our daughter was exposed to numerous situations while at Brehm that, quite frankly, rather shocked us, especially considering the cost of tuition and the amount of supervision the administration claims the staff provides. I would encourage any parent considering placing a child there to spend a fair amount of time on the campus, in the dorms, AND on the “rec outings.”
Dawn
Sanford,
What number do I contact off line? Don’t have a number to reach you. Please let me know, thanks.
Toby Carsons
Safran,
Believe it or not we visited Eagleton School and saw incredible supervision. If you would like to talk, please email me at tscc48@yahoo.com. I would love to talk with you.
Toby Carsons
Toby,
Click on my name and that brings to you my Bend Learning Center site, complete with contact info.
Thanks,
Sanford
Toby,
…and if for some reason it doesn’t, number is 541 383 3208
I found brehm to be a very good school and helped me a lot. things i learned there 4 years ago i still use in my everyday life.
Our child attended Brehm for four years, and recently graduated. We, and close family and friends, are impressed with the positive changes in behavior, abilities, and academic strength displayed. Frankly, I don’t know how things would have turned out had it NOT been for Brehm School. The support, supervision, and help that our child received has, we believe, made a huge difference in her life, and ours. We strongly recommend Brehm School.
Toby,
My daughter just graduated from Brehm after attending for four years. She has Aspergers, processing problems and speech problems. Each year while at Brehm I have seen the faculty and administration strive to work with her to improve her skills. Academics is not a problem for her and Brehm provides a system by which children are tested and placed in classes at their educational level. Although one parent suggested it was not challenging, it provided enough background for my daughter to score a 25 on the ACT college entry test. I certainly didn’t teach her that math! I felt the pragmatics and speech training were superior. The dorm parents are mostly young men and women, some going to the local college. At first I was disappointed that they didn’t have more “parent” types but I realized that young people this age were able to socially educate in a way a parent could not. After attending graduation with us, a friend who is a college professor wrote me that he had “never seen a more meaningful event. You could tell the faculty was involved and that the students were taught to care and respect one another.” For my child Brehm was a good fit. If your child had severe acting out issues don’t hesitate to ask Brehm how they deal with it.
I hope this gives you some additional insight.
I have a 16yr old son with aspergers. He is average intelligence. He spent a year in residential treatment at Sandhills in New Mexico. He does well in school, but still difficult at home. I am considering Brehem. He does not like taking showers… fustrates this Mom. Needs Pragmatic learning and Lots of Counseling. What can you tell me ?
Dear Betty,
I think I know the Sandhills center your son went to and hope that it helped him. It may be that his behavioral issues are too much for Brehm but you should contact them directly.
Just be real honest about his ups and downs, his strengths and weaknesses. They’ll give you an idea of whether you should pursue further.
We will make a trip there again… also have looked at Montcalm in Albion Michigan. They a dorm cottage where just asperger kids share living space…but their classes are with all kids with disablities. Do you know of this? How does this compare to Brehm’s school?
Betty,
I don’t have professional experience with Montcalm other than some reports I’ve read, which have been positive.
Especially in this economy I would really ask lots of questions of potential schools as there may be higher than usual enrollment pressures.
From what I can tell, Montcalm has history serving kids with behavioral issues and this may or may not be a good thing for your son’s needs. They are able to use positive peer culture and I think a decent level of psychiatric support on campus.
Brehm on the other hand has a longstanding track record in serving educational needs of perhaps a gentler less socially competent student. I would imagine they’re more grounded in educational pedagogy than emotional behavioral emphasis.
You might also want to look at the Little Keswick School, in Virginia, which I write about here at this website http://www.ldresources.org/2007/01/21/sanford-shapiro-looks-at-the-little-keswick-school/ as well as the Deveraux Glenholme School in Washington CT http://www.theglenholmeschool.org/.
Best of luck.
Sanford
Betty,
How well did the Sandhill center address his issues?
Sanford
sanford,
Sandhills is a really good placement for kids who have attachment issues or as John, Aspergers. They are only taking younger kids now. I think up to 15yrs. Very theraputic with lots ofs support. John also had bowel issues. He was born with Hirschsprungs disease. He was operated on when he was 2mos old. He has bowel control, but sometimes does not pay attention to his body. This has been the biggest problem for us. Sometimes he can go for months with no problem. Then he soils and we have to get him back on track. Many places do not deal with this issue. His emotional ablilities are lower, yet he does great in school. We need emotional growth and help in teaching him to be responsible for himself.
Betty
We are looking at Brehm this weekend for my son who has learning issues. He also has bipolar/ADHD, but these don’t seem to affect his learning as the meds can keep him in control. We are also looking into Maplebrook, and Gow in NY the following weekend. We are from CA where there aren’t any schools (that I have found) near us. I would appreciate any feedback on these schools. My son has A’s and B’s in a regular middle school, but that is with modifications/alot of ‘mom help’.
Cathy,
Brehm and Maplebrook and Gow are pretty different. Can you explain more of what your son’s learning issues are?
Have you been using a placement specialist/educational consultant to help guide you?
I checked into getting one, but $6000 seemed way too much money. My son has auditory processing, dysgraphia, dyscalcula…If he hears it, he retains it. Here is a quick note off of his IEP:
overall cognitive abilities are functioning withing the average range. Both his thinking ability and verbal ability were average. Relative weaknesses were noted in cognitive efficiency, processing speed, and short-term memory, which all fall in the low average range. Visual-motor skills were withing the below average range with visual perception being average. Processing weaknesses were noted in motor coordination. Phonological awareness and phonolgical memory skills both average, while ability to rapidly name numbers and letters was in low range.
He looks like an average kid, has friends at school, but not at home, nor do his school friends call.
Thanks for any help.
I have ’shyed away’ from therapeutic schools because he never used alcohol drugs, been a truant problem, always gotten good citizenship at school. I looked at Boulder Creek and it looks like a good school too, but like I said before, I don’t want to introduce behaviors that aren’t a problem at this time.
Cathy,
The info you provided is helpful. It gets closer to understanding his needs. However I’d still encourage you to look at an ed consultant for at least some guidance. I would really encourage you to contact Caryl Frankenberger in Branford CT if you’re serious about looking a east coast schools. I think you’ll find a completely different price structure.
The thing is, and forgive my repeat statement, but the schools you mention are different enough from each other, it makes me think you need major tuning of your list. If you want her contact info let me know.
You’re going to need to share the testing and report of your son as a starting point. I’m happy to give any free information I can in this forum as I also know LD issues and schools, but am hesitant to go too far with you at this point without knowing more details.
Here’s some starting points however that I hope are useful: Gow is a pretty traditional looking and acting school for pretty bright kids with learning disabilities, mostly dyslexia, that will respond to and tolerate intensive Orton Gillingham intervention. Brehm and Maplebrook both work with children/students with more global learning disabilities (less specific, more encompassing than “just” dyslexia). You can read about my visit to Maplebrook here at this site.
Good luck.
Is Pine Ridge still around? When I checked their website, they said that ‘for information about the future of Pine Ridge…”
Also, I would be happy to contact Caryl and see how she handles looking for schools. I would also love a school on the West Coast or closer to CA, but haven’t found any…are there any???
Pine Ridge is closing, or closed.
Caryl’s contact info: Caryl Frankenberger ADDRESS: 1 Whitewood Dr
Branford CT 06405
TELEPHONE: (203) 481-8476
Look at the schools listed here on this website. You can go to http://www.ldresources.org/2007/09/24/ld-schools-categorized/ here to look through some western schools that might fit his profile.
Thanks. I had already contacted Caryl, and had already looked through the schools on this website. I don’t see any LD boarding schools on the west coast.
Yup, the schools on west coast that might be appropriate are day schools.
Sanford
I have a son who is in his second year at Montcalm in the Asperger’s cottage. I have been pleased with both his emotional and academic growth. We are looking at going to Brehm for high school.
Jo Ann
Jo Ann,
Can you tell us what worked well at Montcalm for your son?
The living situation is fairly structured. There are always two staff for the house, which usually has ten boys there. There is also a low turnover in staff. The main therapist for the Asperger’s group has been there for at least 10 years, I believe it may be more like thirteen though. The house staff has a low turn over rate as well. My son has formes a strong bond with most of his staff and for teenagers I think that is important.
The kids have group daily. They work on interpersonal relationships, getting along with each other, conflict management, sharing space, etc. The kids work on being responsible for themselves and also for holding each other responsible for commitments to the group.
Thay all have daily chores. They cook, usually on weekends with the assistance of their staff. They have an allowance for hygeine shopping that they are responsible for.
The class size is small. It is about 10-12 kids. They are run like a one room school house with the kids at different levels.
Most importantly though is that he has made friends with whom he wants to stay in touch.
I don’t know if this answers your question, and it may be more info than you wanted. For background, we are from Louisiana and were referred to Montcalm by his MD. He had been in one other residential treatment center prior for behavioral purposes, that one in Texas.
He is really at Montcalm for school purposes and I’ve been pleased.
Jo Ann
That’s great and helpful for a lot of folks I’m sure.
Where else besides Brehm are you considering? Are the public school options worth considering?
Montcalm has a relationship with Brehm. Most of the guys wind up goig to Brehm or Grand River, which is a an all male boarding school for underachieving young men. Grand River has support but is not specifically for any particular “type” of kid. So actually Brehm is the only one.
Public schools here are not an option. My son had a disasterous year prior to starting at Montcalm and we almost lost everything that had been gained in Texas. I had gone at the beginning of the year and sat down with all of his teachers as well as the school psychologist who had done his original testing. I had to fight over following his IEP. When teachers did follow it, particularly during testing, it was made clear that he was “different”. My advocate thought I had a good enough case to sue but I wanted my son to have a good education without the stigma that would have occurred. In the end I just wanted a good education for my son in a place where he felt safe and valued, and to date it’s been possible.
I have a 17 year old who will be a junior next year. He is a high functioning Aspergers with LD (slow processing speed, working memory, attention problems) He is very social, unlike most aspergers. He has friends in and out of school, in fact the last psychologist wasn’t sure whether to classify him as Aspergers, but, he fits the profile with his obsessions and inability to read social cues & some inappropriate conversations He needs help to work through social situations in a positive manner and needs to become an advocate for himself. He was attending a high school here for high preforming students. The students were quite ecletic, and anyone could find a place to fit, although he still had some social issues, he was basically quite happy. Unfortunately, he could not keep up academically and he did not meet the required GPA to come back. Alot of his academic problems are due to not finishing assignments.
We are considering Brehm. We visited last year and again this year. We had some concerns this year about him fitting in. Do you have any thoughts. We live in Louisiana and there is one high school that has the NILD program “Discoveries”, but we do not have many resources for the social aspects
I have a daughter who is preparing to graduate from New Leaf Academy in Bend. She has early onset Bi-polar disorder, fetal alcohol effect, attachment disorder (although that has gotten a bit better) and pretty severe deficits in processing. She’s 15 but functions much younger emotionally and cognitively. Despite her challenges, she’s remained very innocent. She has found lots of success at New Leaf. She seems to feel like she fits in. In a traditional school or even traditional home setting she can’t keep up with the pace and gets lost and acts out.
Our Ed. Consultant is considering Brehm. She also mentioned Copper Canyon in Arizona. We live in Nevada and would like for her to be close to home, but realize most of the schools are back East. We want our daughter to learn life skills and vocational skills, but don’t want her to be introduced to behaviors that she is not mature enough to handle. Our consultant says there are very few schools for kids like our daughter, but I wonder if there are others out there we may want to consider.
I am currently a student at Brehm Preparatory, I have high functioning Aspergers Syndrome…Yet I seem to find a social disconnect at the Brehm campus. When I first arrived I was extremley impressed only to find an intense dissapointment after about two weeks.
What I find so shocking is the Dorm staff’s inability to watch over the day to day activities and the sheer innapropriatness and immaturity of their actions. Several act like they are still in high school although they are having a child. Since arriving I have seen and been treated by the staff team as if I was a rotting fetid piece of filth rather than a fully concious and functioning human being. I have seen an extreme amount of hypocrisy and lack of responsibility taken by the staff team in dealing with day to day problems. I have seen and experienced a good deal of emotional damage done by the dorm parents alone.
The students are so sick of the campus that they rebel for fun, because they are bored and have nothing else to do, so they cause problems. This in turn creates a emotionally and physically unsafe environment for students to learn and grow while developing social and learning habits that will help in the future. The feel of the campus once one walks on is a sense of deep despair and hoplessness due to these innapropriate actions.
The school work is very simple and basic even at the peak of the classes they teach I still find it challenging to find a challenge in the school work. As a friend of mine said “This school rewards those who do nothing through lowering the standards, while those like me and you (Sic) who are extremley motivated get punished by having to sit with the structure.” This school quells any form of motivation and creativity that may have originally been.
I cannot urge enough that Brehm is the number one place that you do not want to send your child. Especially since there is always the hefty non-refundable $65,000+ bill. What I mean when I say “plus” is that not all of the charges are placed down, that price is tuition alone. There are many fees that are not metioned such as for club activities, allowance, REC’s, etc.
All in all when given the choice between Brem Preparatory and other schools…look at the other schools first.
I have a 15 year old, soon to be 16 year old son who is currently in an early college program but due to the lack of supports has “quit” in the middle of the term. Although he has an active IEP that has not be implemented, it is inapproprite for his needs. He has aspergers, dyslexia, and auditory and visual processing disorders. He is sweet but can at times be obstinate and quite socially immature (ie playing ring around the rosy). He is also very innocent and naive, which I actually enjoy. His life motivation and obsession is 1) the outdoors (mainly water and climbing) and 2) construction. He struggles with his visual processing and spelling so much that he can’t pass a typing course. He is easily frustrated and lashes out (new behavior as is “quiting”) but does eventually come around and appologize. His greatest difficulties are in executive function skills (study, time management, organization) and writing. Are there any schools that accept a dyslexic aspergers kid that has a good brew of outdoor recreation? Am I dreaming? The outdoor components, even of his early college program, is what motivates him …. but he lost that motivation when he got sick and missed all four weeks of his outdoor program weekends. He’s working on his eagle scout…he’s not SUPER bright but the early college program was better than the “dumbing down” he got at his high school by placing him in a living skills class. (Current GPA is 3.25).
From Oregon
I haven’t visited in awhile but read the comments from Keanu and from Katie and MJ. What I do know about Brehm is they offer a course in executive functioning that is across the school year as well as across the grades. They work with teaching the kids how to break down assignments into doable segments, with each segment being an assignment. My son is taking keyboarding this year as he has never been aroung computers. they are also working with him on Macspeak as he does not write well but speaks quite well. My understanding is that one of the goals is to teach and expose the kids to the technology and let them decide what works for them.
The school does have psychological support but it is not a residential treatment center. Some of the kids are younger ecmotionally than what you think based on their age. I don’t know that your daughter would be out of place. There more boys than girls though and that may be a consideration.
As to the comments posted by Keanu, I have a good relationship with my son and if the staff were inappropriate he would tell me. He is happy, likes the school, and has made friends. The dorm staff have been responsive to problems and pay close attention to the kids. I was there for Parents weekend over Halloween and the kids had a great time. There was no sense of despair, unhappiness or rebellion. I took three of the kids to play laser tag and received no bad vibes. Many of the kids stayed in our hotel and they all seemed happy.
Keanu is right about the fees, allowance,etc. The tuition for this year was $59,000. In some cases the school system may pay part of it. Part of it may also be deductible on taxes but that is a matter for accountants.