Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

About Achievement Transition Group

Achievement Transition Group, Inc. is comprised of several services that guide, assist and aid families with adolescent children and young adults (12-24) with special needs.  However, James also works with parents of older adult children as well.

We focus on transitioning the family towards finding a balance in the home. Included in the “home” are individuals and relationships that may need support such as supporting parents individually and as a couple. We seek to assist in coordinating efforts allowing the family to receive the most effective support relative to the situation ranging from assessing needs, coordinating wrap-around services, to transitions toward adulthood.

Depending on your situation, our experienced staff will walk you through an interview process with you to identify the program or programs that best fit your child and family’s needs.

Absolutely. Each  program is setup to  serve in an individualized and tailored manner to meet the adolescent/young adult and family’s specific needs.  

Depending on the program and the needs of the adolescent/young adult and family, the enrollment process varies from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks.

There are important distinctions made here.

Mentoring is a structured and trusting relationship that brings young people together with caring individuals who offer guidance, support and encouragement aimed at developing the competence and character of the mentee. The mentor provides the young person with support, friendship, reinforcement and constructive example. Mentors are good listeners, people who care, people who want to help young people bring out strengths that are already there.  

Coaching engages the relationship under the direction of the client who sets the goals. Like mentoring it’s collaborative but in coaching the client directs the process more concretely. A mentor can provide coaching but they also need to provide a positive example or model, interject with dysfunctional dynamics are complicating the process in meeting objectives, and accepts the responsibility of having information and skills that are sought by the mentee.   

Therapy has its role but meets different needs. Here a person concentrates working with a person’s subconscious scripts or unresolved traumatic experiences in an effort to heal in a doctor-patient type of relationship.  A therapist diagnoses then provides expertise and guidelines to support  a path for healing. 

• National Association of Therapeutic Schools (NATSAP), Individual Affiliates;
• National Association of Therapeutic Wilderness Camping;
• Independent Educational Consultant Association, Associate member;
• Missoula, MT Chamber of Commerce

About Aftercare

Aftercare is a uniquely designed process to assist parents and students during the transition from the controlled environment of a program, therapeutic school or treatment center to home. During the initial transition period many families experience a number of “ups and downs.” Aftercare provides support in assisting the parents and student in maintaining, expanding or revising the Aftercare Plan which has been developed at the respective program.  (The Aftercare Plan is a mutually agreed upon outline of expectations, priorities, balance, goals and the action.) With these tools, you are guided as a group and/or individually in meeting the goals set forth with the focus on helping the results achieved during the program experience become sustainable and integrated over time. 

Second Step is a program designed to provide seamless transition from students returning home after an out-of-home placement. The Transition Specialists support telephonically the student and parents make the shift home while activating and integrating the tools and skill sets acquired in their program experience. They all have direct care programmatic experiences with at-risk youth and families. There are supervised and receive ongoing professional development to ensure the highest level of support is provided.

A Transition Specialist is the person who will work with you in the Aftercare Process.  They have worked with adolescent children, young adults and their family in wilderness, boarding schools and residential treatment centers.  At minimum, they possess a Certificate in Life Coaching. However, most of our Transition Specialists are Master’s level or minimum Bachelor’s Level or commensurate experience.  They support and offer valuable suggestions to parents and students regarding specific situations that will occur.

The Transition Specialist is in the position to move the family forward, taking what tools they have obtained and helping them to perform at the peak of their abilities.  This professional  works to draw out each family member’s strengths and provide support for them as they overcome limits and personal barriers to achieve their goals.  The Transition Specialist provides feedback, helping the family to function in a healthy manner, with the ability to handle appropriately life’s normal ups and downs.  It’s preferred that the Transition Specialist works in concert with your local therapist or counselor. Remember that the Transition Specialist has invaluable programmatic insights, has a different set of directives, and set of skills that differentiates it role verses a therapist. Yet, when the clinical team works with the our specialists, the wrap around effort makes for a more effective integration at home.   

ATG, Inc. provides and effective and affordable way to support adolescents, young adults and their family during this critical transition time.  The process is intentionally designed to be easy with a phone call or email we are able to start.

About Mission

This is a service program that takes a small group of young adults or nearly a young adult to a developing country with experienced and seasoned staff. This is an excellent event for someone in a “Gap” year transition to college. Or, it can be the perfect event that inspires and draws forward a “mission” attitude in a young adult. Often the set program is during the summer time but we have the capability to support one-on-one opportunities. We have been to Cambodia, Thailand, Nicaragua, Peru, Bolivia among some other developing countries. This is truly an profound life-altering experience.

Simple Projects is one of the “Mission” events offered. Led by Bradley Midgett, MSW, he supports a transformative ‘rites of passage’ experience by taking groups of late adolescent youth and young adults, male and female, on six-week trips to Brazil to complete volunteer service projects with underprivileged communities. His team of therapists and mentors are experienced in a unique set of skills that allows us to both work with young people and meet the needs in guiding international trips.

Contact our admissions person and we can go through our assessment process to ensure your child is ready to handle the demands of traveling abroad.

The perceived risk is higher than the actual risk! Our competent and seasoned staff have anticipated the challenges that are inherent to international travel. We ensure that areas we travel in are safe. We are kept abreast by our local contacts any changes that may be taking place in our area of interest. The staff work on a “real-time” orientation to mitigate unnecessary risk. Our greatest challenges is making sure we have Tums on hand for some upset stomachs.

About Novus

Novus is a non-residential, young adult transition process. It’s geared for both the young person wanting to learn and experience independence and for parents who are truly ready to support their child doing so. Often our participants have come from a therapeutic experience and are now ready to be independent while having a support structure to help them navigate and acquire necessary skills.

 The initial month, the Mentor will spend usually at minimum about 20 hours per week.  However, the program is specifically tailored to meet the individual’s needs.

Our students live alone.   It is important that they take this time to focus their time and energies in a concentrated way that allows them to experience the positive and not-so-positive consequences of decisions they make.  The parents are strongly supported in this process as well because of the anxiousness that surfaces as they allow their son or daughter understand responsibility in an experiential way.

We honor each individual’s specific religion and have the ability to support most major religious activities.  Faith-based refers to our collective belief that there is a power or source greater than ourselves and it is from that platform we work to help the student develop his/her faith process alongside with our supporting the parents in their walk. We firmly believe that Faith is the basis for which our relationships, vocation, independence and wellness gives meaning and purpose.

The mentor’s role at Novus is to provide guidance, support and encouragement as the young adult and his/her family move through a family centered process. It is a structured and trusting relationship aimed at developing the competence and character of the young adult while working with and supporting the parents in a change in their parenting from adolescent/parent relationship to young adult/parent relationship.  Our mentors are impeccable listeners, care deeply, and have a passion for helping young people bring out strengths that are already there while assisting the family in developing a healthy relationship with their young adult child.

Success is defined by the young adult and their family meeting reasonable goals set forth and developed during the program. Because this is an individualized process, we are not putting categorical benchmarks that fit for everyone. However, goals are set to move the young adult and parents forward to achieving that independent or even interdependent level. Sometimes the process looks like several steps are taken back. But this is a part of the process. We have to know that certain destructive ways are truly that and to become tired of approaching our needs in unhealthy ways. From that point of exhaustion can we be open to another idea or way. It is imperative, however, that we understand that what we are doing now doesn’t work and that is why this has to be an experiential process.