Eating Disorders education and treatment.

What We Can Do to Help Your Child

If your child has been recently diagnoised with a eating disorder or your current school does not meet your child's special needs please contact us. Montgomery Academy is equipped to appeal to the more unconventional student by offering a more unconventional format in which to learn. While we do use textbooks and employ the more traditional styles of teaching, these are not the only, nor the primary, means of educating. Whenever and wherever possible hands-on, experiential techniques are used. Building models, dioramas, exploring the campus environment, role playing, field trips, cooking, and other hands on methods are used regularly. Our classrooms and halls reflect what is being studied, drawings, murals, reports and projects are all proudly displayed.

Treatment Options

There is no easy treatment for eating disorders.

A combination of treatments, including cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressant medication, is most likely to help teens overcome bulimia. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps by identifying and replacing inaccurate thoughts to help change behavior and emotional state.

Because anorexia is an extremely serious problem, the treatment usually involves nutritional feeding, medical monitoring, and psychological treatment.

What are eating disorders?

Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are psychological disorders that involve extreme disturbances in eating behavior. A teen with anorexia refuses to maintain a normal body weight. Someone with bulimia has repeated episodes of binge eating followed by compulsive behaviors such as vomiting or the use of laxatives to remove the food.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, as many as one in every 100 females has anorexia nervosa. Teens with anorexia fear gaining weight and are at least 15% below their ideal body weights. They believe the main gauge of self-worth is their body image.

Experts believe many American girls are bulimic and have kept the problem a secret. Bulimia often starts in the late teens and early adulthood. People with bulimia go through cycles of eating enormous amounts of foods followed by purging (by vomiting, laxative use, diuretics, or hours of aerobic exercise).

What are the symtoms?

* A distorted body image.
* Skipping most meals.
* Unusual eating habits (such as eating thousands of calories at one meal or skipping meals).
* Frequent weighing.
* Extreme weight change.
* Insomnia.
* Constipation.
* Skin rash or dry skin.
* Dental cavities.
* Erosion of tooth enamel.
* Loss of hair or nail quality.
* Hyperactivity and high interest in exercise.

Though we follow New Jersey’s Core Content Curriculum Standards, we are able to remain creative and flexible in our approaches to the subject matter. Please read about our programs.

• Instructional Programs
• Transitional Programs
• Therapeutic Programs
• Guidance Counseling
• Summer Programs

Our holistic, custom-tailored, arts and technology rich approach uses innovative hands-on teaching methods delivered with sensitivity in small, dynamic classrooms on a serene mountain top in pastoral Mendham Township.

Come and see how we can help your son or daughter realize their unique potential in an atmosphere of trust and security that promotes self reliance and a love of lifelong learning.