Our daughter completed ALE in February.  She absolutely LOVED wilderness and I never would have thought that in a million years.(She was quite the princess at home) While she had a tough time there initially, she has never said one thing negative about being there or the program.  And while previous attempts were made to have her see a therapist, she did eventually come around and give Christine "gems" to work with.  We have nothing but kudos for Christine in believing in her and constantly offering us hope and something positive in all her calls with us. 

I really don't think we'd be where we are with our son without ALE as the founding step. You took in this wild kid and gave us back our son, and we really appreciate the work and care that went in to make this happen.

I don't know what to say other than thank you and your team at ALE. Being part of our son’s graduation was the proudest moment of my family life. That experience has put so many things in perspective for me We feel very fortunate that our son found you and your team at this point in his life. He shared so many great things about ALE and the whole experience.

I wanted to tell you once more how much I appreciate what you and the other staff at ALE have done for my son. I spoke with him on Sunday and he is continuing on his journey and continuing to amaze me with his progress and maturity. He spoke of ALE and said he misses it there !! You have all been blessings in my life. I thank God every day that we found ALE and that we had the strength and ability to get him there. I cannot tell you what a different child he was in the months leading up to ALE to the young man he is now. You really are miracle workers.

What can I say but "thank you" for everything that you've done for our son and our family. The graduation experience is something that I don't think any of us will ever forget. How memorable! What my husband and I recognized was even though our son has made great strides at ALE and his whole wilderness adventure, there is still work to be done, and in no way could I have given him the tools that he needed right now to truly succeed. …as we said before "we don't have a crystal ball to see into the future" however, at this point I truly believe that it is brighter than it was, and in some small way, that was due to you and ALE. I hope that you got to know our family a little bit better and know that we will hold your program very dear to all of our hearts from here on.

I just visited my daughter at her boarding school. She is doing so well. She had all her walls down. I'm so happy I found my strength emotionally and financially to provide her with ALE and boarding school. It was so refreshing to connect and have a good time with her. She has matured and developed so much, I'm so proud of her.

"Our son has grown so much, I really cannot thank you and ALE enough. Devon is really interested in seeking a position as a Wilderness Instructor. I know he feels strongly about giving back!"

"I wanted to express our great appreciation for your work with John this summer, as well as all your time with us. You really seemed to "get" John, with observations and insights that were right on target. Your observations truly clarified for us a lot of the issues with John, expressing both the positive and negative aspects of his behavior, personality and emotional state, seeing through the surface charm to what is actually going on with the boy underneath."

"Joan and I wanted to extend our highest regards and warmest thanks to all at ALE that touched Jennifer in some way while she was there. We feel all of you have made a lasting impression on her and on us. She has been talking non stop about her experience since the moment we left. She read her entire journal to the whole family for three hours on the trip home and we loved it! Joan and I know this experience has meant the world to her and to us. We truly have our "Jenny" back with bonus strength, self awareness and confidence we never expected. We all know that this is just a beginning but we are so blessed to have such a strong and positive base to build upon. As we learn more about your program through Jennifer's recounts (and I think we only got the tip of the iceberg!) we are so impressed with the professional, creative and meaningful way you have shaped her thought processes, built her up and made her so self aware of her talents and challenges. Joan and I have had the added benefit of learning about ourselves as well. We truly believe you have rescued our little girl."

"We can't thank you enough for the work that you do. Sometimes we are lucky enough to cross paths with a special person who changes your life. I think you would fit under that category for our family. We could just "feel" the impact you had on Will. His winning smile has returned. We know he's got a lot of work ahead of him, but I think that feeling of doom that he's carried around for so long, is gone."

"Jamie is really thriving at ASR! We've seen some remarkable changes in Jamie's behavior over the last seven months – he's doing well academically, residentially and therapeutically and is really starting to step up as a leader at school, being a student ambassador, crew leader, assistant dorm head etc. We can truly see how the wilderness program provides the essential starting place for change to take place. Jamie still talks about coming back to ALE to work for a couple of weeks as a peer counselor - perhaps in the summer of 2008..."

"First off I wanted to start by saying thanks again for helping me open my eyes to many problems I never realized I had. I also want to tell you how I have gotten off to such a good start at school, academically and socially."

"Just wanted to thank you for such an amazing experience! I knew Chris was a strong person but never that strong. He never slept on the way home he just kept talking about his experiences and how he knew they were tough but amazing."

"Most importantly you folks have focused on the area that will likely be of most concern to our parents: winter safety. The care with which you are building the cabins and working closely with the Health Department is evident and will help us to provide the right level of confidence to parents regarding the health and safety of their child while they are in your program."

"Overall, he has matured greatly. It is truly amazing how different he is. He truly appreciates what he never appreciated before. You would never know he had entitlement issues or behavior problems."

"I can't believe the progress I have made with my anger management and constant worrying that used to consume me. I have a wonderful relationship with my parents now and love my family. I am enjoying life right now and wanted to thank you for your role in the journey I have had over these past two years."

"He's dealing with everyone on a much more mature level and talking about what bothers him rather than holding it in and exploding when he can't take it any more."

"As NE area consultants we are constantly struggling to get our parents to commit to wilderness programs because the one's we recommend/trust are most often in Utah and other remote places. Thank goodness for Aspen's recognition of this need: we now have a "brand name" first class facility in our neck of the woods. To say the least, we are thrilled."

"Many thanks, again, for all you have done for Tom and for the high degree of professionalism and commitment to excellence you and the other staff members consistently showed in your fine program at ALE. His transformation was remarkable."

"I applaud those whose life's mission is dedicated to improving the lives of others - thank you."

"I was big on rationalizing and not accepting responsibility for my actions. I was a teen that thought he knew everything and was clearly making bad decisions but ALE completely changed me beyond belief. I am honored to tell you that I have stayed out of any form of trouble since leaving there and I am very happy with the person I have become since you last saw me. Dean I just want you to know how grateful I am for all that you did for me during that summer, quite some time ago, and wanted to tell you first hand, THANK YOU."