A New Approach to Asperger Syndrome - Wilderness Therapy

by Jeffery D. Derry, MA LPC NCC
Clinical Director of the SUWS Programs

If you are the parent of a teen with Asperger Syndrome, you may wonder how the SUWS wilderness experience might benefit your child.

The answer is a low staff ratio, one professional staff for every four students, and a stream of constant interventions to help your teen learn to better tolerate stress and frustration and to teach him or her appropriate social skills. Your child will interact with professionals twenty-four hours a day. No moment is without purpose or intent and although the treatment is very short, it is also very intense.

SUWS has been helping young people age 11 to 18 for over twenty-five years. We take our students out into the wilderness where they learn through a natural "cause and effect" curriculum. For example, if you don't wear appropriate clothes, you get cold. If you don't plan ahead for rain, you get wet. Most teens quickly learn you can't test Mother Nature. Of course, we never allow any child to endure harsh consequences such as frost bite just to teach them a lesson.

The treatment program has three phases: intake and orientation, the actual wilderness experience, and aftercare support.

Based on your child's application, history, behavior characteristics, social interactions, staff observations and self-reports, I develop a sense of whether his or her diagnosis is correct. I always require further testing because the diagnosis must be absolutely solid. The SUWS staff also works with parents during this orientation period. Our professionals brainstorm together to determine the correct interventions for each individual teen. SUWS will never take any child into the wilderness unless we first determine that the child is "safe" and ready for such an experience.

Since teens with Asperger Syndrome may have already experienced social rejection in the past, I work to insure that their experience here at SUWS is positive and friendly. I will hand pick your child's placement in a group tailored to his or her needs, based partly on your child's age, gender and abilities. If an appropriate group is not immediately available, I may suggest keeping your teen in an orientation group or allowing a "solo" trip with a one-on-one counselor.

Your child will be hiking and exploring the Idaho desert and countryside as he or she receives constant training and education from our staff professionals. One therapeutic method SUWS is using is Dialectical Behavior Technique, which was originally invented to help people with Borderline Personality Disorder. Dialectical Behavior Technique can help teens with Asperger Syndrome learn to model social behaviors, regulate emotions, and tolerate stress. The teen develops a system of self-balance that allows him or her to accept their own decision-making process at any given moment. Often teens with Asperger Syndrome who have used Dialectical Behavior Technique increase their social well-being and decrease their anxiety levels because they learn more appropriate peer interactions.

Once your teen returns from the wilderness experience, he or she enters the SUWS aftercare support program. We work closely with parents, family members and the teens themselves to help them retain the new skills they have gained. We also help each teen make a smooth transition to a home setting or therapeutic boarding school, if recommended.

We believe that we have a lot to offer teens with Asperger Syndrome. We hope to welcome you and your teen into the SUWS program, and look forward to working with you. Although we believe there is no "magical cure" for Asperger Syndrome, we know that we can help your teen find the appropriate treatment and skills so that he or she can have a brighter future.