CALO does amazing work healing families with issues around adoption and developmental trauma. The staff is skilled and caring and the use of canine therapy does wonders for the young people in the program. Truly a unique and lasting healing experience.
Its obvious intention goes into every detail at CALO. You can see it as soon as you arrive, from the colorful and inviting reception area to the well appointed and playful milieu; here you will frequently encounter students playing with and training their canine companions as coaches encourage and allow space for the experience of healing. You can certainly feel the sense the commitment from leadership to create an atmosphere of safety and support for not only the students but for the staff as well. Impressive facility, and program.
We sent our son there after he failed out of wilderness, was thrown out of a therapeutic boarding school and nobody in PA would accept him.
The change in my son was more then we could have dreamed. He is a new kid thanks to the team at CALO. The program works on changing not only the behavior of the child but the behavior of the parents. Only when we changed the way that we interact with each other could we have a lasting change.
I m the year 2014, at 14 years old my parents asked me if I wanted to get away from them for awhile, and go to what they described as a boarding school. Excited I told them yes and we made the drive down to Lake Ozarks- and the campus which is beautiful. When I got to the facility Chris showed me around, and I was excited because they had golden retrievers and they told my parents and I upon arrival that I would be assigned a dog and at the end of my treatment I would be able to take the dog home and adopt it. I was in the group Azalea and there were other groups all named after flowers. There was a lack of privacy , and I never got to spend any time to myself. The rooms we slept in was shared by 3 other girls in bunks and the room itself was an open wall, in the showers we were told we needed to sing or count or talk to the counselor who had to stand outside the door. If there was any misbehavior you were sent to a room where you were constantly monitored it was a small room with a couple other girls that you had to stay in for 2 weeks, there as nothing in there that you could do you could sit but not sleep. You were allowed to play cards which was done a lot and read but that s about it. Sometimes there were days when we got to do activities like rock climbing or go out on a boat and swim but there was so much downtime. They had a small theater room in the atrium and for two hours a day you could go in there when we were allowed to hang out in there but the staff ad to pick a show for us. I had a kidney disease and had to eat low sodium and my parents were promised it would happen. Over two months I gained an incredible amount of weight and was extremely puffy from water fluid from sodium. My parents pulled me out of the program after those two months but there were some girls who were there for over 2 years. Although it is a safe place and it s a beautiful area I was molested by some older girls who were there. We would go into the bathroom which had a door to do makeup and I won t speak further on the instance. My parents wanted to write a review and talk more openly about my experience because they had a friend who sent their daughter there as well and they pulled her out but my parents found all cases of anyone pressing charges or talking about it were shut down. Whether Calo writes some of their own reviews or the place has changed a lot I hope you can consider other options with your child. I understand sometimes you run out of options but please do your research thoroughly.
#breakingcodesilence
breakingcodesilence.net
Calo was a life saver for my family. They are incredibly caring ad compassionate. The progress my son made there was remarkable.
My daughter attended CALO for one year. The program, and her wonderful therapist Debby, changed her in so many ways. She is more mature, thoughtful, less impulsive and best of all happier. We can not begin to thank CALO enough.
My granddaughter had been to 3 different programs prior to CALO, her progress and state of mind is better than I've seen in many many years. CALO is specifically designed for my granddaughter's struggles!
We are neighbors and direct observers of the activity that takes place at CALO. Come stand on my property and observe the activity that takes place on a typical day. You will be less than impressed. I know what it costs and I would NOT send my child to CALO for treatment! The counselors are glorified baby sitters who show little concern for the residents. The use of bad language is out of control and we often have to ask them to refrain from using the f word. It is very common for someone to escape. A couple of the kids recently attempted to break into our house. They are allowed to vandalize the property and grounds. I have witnessed firsthand the mistreatment of the dogs that some of them are in charge of. Before spending tens of thousands of dollars, please contact me through Facebook messenger.
2014 we sent our son after hearing rave reviews by our therapist as the only place to go. It was 10 hours from home. I'm sure they are well intended but hind site - if I could have a redo we would not have chosen Calo. I don't know if they still do the dog program but it is completely over rated. Also knowing ptsd is often medicated as adhd I could not get them to take my son off the medication; hindsight don't drug your kids. Also there was a family camp they all hyped up the the day before informed us my 10 year old son missing his brother wasn't allowed to come because they couldn't have other kids there. They could have made some time for him to be there we ended up having to get a hotel room and split up- dad some time and some with me.
That wasn't family camp. Parent camp maybe, but not family. Something about if 10 year old had a misbehavior- uh as parents we would have handled it and our son wouldn't have in the first place- however when got there, there were other families with kids there. Probably best for me to not get started I'd probably have a list. At the time it was a good 500 a day so yeah very costly and just not worth it.
My teenage daughter spent almost 2 years at CALO.
The various therapies they utilize were very beneficial
for her. Everyone on staff was really helpful and
supportive, especially the two therapists she had while
she was there. She is now thriving, thanks to CALO.
caloprograms.com
