The following is transferred from our old website.
Please note that the letter shown was written . in the late '90s. With
the development of this section of the website with other testimonials,
this letter will be moved to a new location.
Letter from a parent
Dear
Dr. Smith:
First, thank you again for your continuing
interest in Sammy's progress. As I mentioned on the phone, I am
still grateful for your unmitigated support in spite of the fact
that Sammy has only been a patient for such a short time.
As to Sammy, he is doing very well and, as
I mentioned, it is obvious to all of us who have known him for
all of his life, he has made enormous strides since graduating
from Boarding school. He has chosen to attend a competitive
college in the Midwest, where he is now a sophomore. While his
academic performance is far below his ability, he has created
for himself a rich and active campus life. He has a group of
good friends and is involved in several extra-curricular
activities, which are rather impressive. He has also decided on
what it is that he would like to be doing in the future and
seems to be focused on his goal.
I believe that what has made the
difference for us, especially for me, was the fact that I have
complete confidence in the person who helped us find
Valley View.
It was the knowledge that this is not just a place we chose
because of someone else's good experience, but that it had been
chosen specifically with Sammy in mind. It was the end result of
a careful review and followed a process of elimination of other
options. I am convinced that the pains which went into the very
personalized efforts to find just the right place for Sammy, in
the end did not get lost on him. It also allowed me, the
anguished parent, to get past the guilt and trepidation of
"farming my kid away from home". I am handing all this to Mr.
Tom Croke, whose highly capable intervention made the difference
for Sammy.
Tom Croke is a cross between a child and
adolescent social service professional and an educational
consultant. He is a consummate professional who does not second
guess the parents' expectations or anxieties in order to "make a
sale". It was interesting to watch Sammy's reaction to Tom
Croke.
Sammy knew innately that this man might
very well bring about his being sent away from home (and you
will remember how he felt about that...!!!). Nevertheless, he
realized real quickly that he will not be able to manipulate or
con Tom vis-a-vis his problems at school or at home. At the same
time, it was obvious that Sammy has a genuine respect for Tom
and trusts him.
Tom Croke's "home visit" included a very
thorough and comprehensive examination of every school record
which I ever received about Sammy, of every testing procedure
and of every report by a therapist. He spent hours with Sammy
and some time with me. At the end of the process, he seemed to
have as good a handle on Sammy's problems as I have and
certainly a much better one than most school psychologists with
whom we had the dubious honor to consult. One of the impressive
points of Mr. Croke was the fact that he has been brutally frank
about pros and cons of the various schools we had reviewed. He
also tried to respond to Sammy's fear of going away to school
and reviewed some schools in the New York area.
Mr.
Croke arranged for us to receive materials from all the schools
which seemed to be viable possibilities for Sammy. He
participated actively in the process of choosing the right one
with endless patience and unlimited accessibility. He continued
to receive copies of Sammy's grades and reports from Valley View
and at times served as my sounding board when some issue
surfaced with Sammy at the School which needed my intervention.
As I have told you in the past, I wish I knew about this
earlier.
I hope that this helps you and your
patient.
Sincerely,
A Parent
