Transcript From 'GMA' Interview With Kyle

April 25, 2006 — -- Below is a partial transcript from "Good Morning America" on April 25. The segment below is a follow-up to the April 21 "Primetime" show about stepfamilies in crisis.

Click Here for a message from Kyle's mom about a college fund for Kyle.

Diane Sawyer: Now, stepfamilies in crisis. You'll remember last Friday we brought you a report of our investigation, an investigation we began because there are millions of stepfamilies in this country and we kept hearing that few people are helping them understand -- in fact, us understand, I'm one too -- how difficult it can sometimes be to try to blend a family and how much anger there can be even with love. So we at "Primetime" set out to do what we could. And as we said, families sent us tapes of crises in their homes hoping for help and even after we took the cameras out, for the next three years we stayed in touch.

You'll remember particularly though one of those families. Then 15-year-old Kyle, her dad Joe, her stepmother Lynn, and the tape showed different moods inside the home, including good times. But it was the scene in which Kyle's dad, in his words, lashed out at her that so many people reacted to. Well, Kyle joins us today. I talked to her and her family just this morning. She asked us not to play the tapes again, just to talk. We agreed. Kyle, joined by her mother, her grandmother, who was also in our piece, and three of the leading experts in the field who were trying to help our families and us understand what was happening.

Diane Sawyer: I know that you wanted to talk. I know you wanted to say something. As you know, there have been a lot of people reacting, particularly to one scene. Tell me what you want to say about that and about your dad.

Kyle: Well, that scene was something that had never happened before and has not happened since and I don't think would ever happen again. My dad was just torn up about it the day it happened, and I just feel really bad that people are getting so, like, just angry. And I'm not going to condone what he did, but at the same time, I've forgiven him.

Diane Sawyer: And I know that you wanted everybody out there to see him as you see him as a dad.

Kyle: Yeah.

Diane Sawyer: Which is someone who loves you?

Kyle: Yes, he does love me, there's no doubt about that. I mean, he's definitely proven that a lot of times.

Diane Sawyer: I know this is hard for everyone to come in the family. If I can go to you, Miss Gramard. You, as we said, Kyle came to live with you?

Grandmother: Yes.

Diane Sawyer: And you saw this situation from the outside and talking to Kyle. Let me get your perspective.

Grandmother: I have some mixed feelings. I'm just glad she's with us and I'm sorry that all this did happen.

Diane Sawyer: And Katherine, one of the things you wanted to say here and I wanted to make sure we get this in, that you wanted to say how you feel about Joe's caring for Kyle?

Kyle's mom: I mean, this man adores her. I'm angry at him right now, I really am. I am very angry at all of it, because I didn't realize until this all came out how bad it really was there. But I know he loves her.

Diane Sawyer: I want to turn and come back to you in a minute, but Iwant to turn to another issue that has been raised. Let's talk about ABC News in this because there was an issue raised whether ABC New, upon viewing that one moment, should have gone to authorities, and we did not feel we should. And everybody out there I hope knows about us, if we ever think anybody is in peril, we move in. That's why we're here, that's what we do. But we viewed the whole tape, we knew the family was in therapy and that this was a family who came to us because the point was to try to get help for everybody.

But let me move to you, Dr. Browning, because you spent time with Lynn and with Joe. I know that you all saw the tapes much later. Kyle was already living with her grandmother. But let me get your sense of what you saw when you looked at everything.

Dr. Browning: We saw very inappropriate parenting, parenting that was both ineffective and wrong. Luckily, we had so much information about the 1,200 hours of tape and the fact that it was a single incident; we knew that Kyle was out of the home. I think what the audience doesn't know how we talked, about how concerned we were and how we absolutely do not condone the parenting we saw.

Diane Sawyer: But you have said when you look at the whole spectrum of facts, what conclusion did you come to?

Dr. Browning: At that point, there was inappropriate parenting but we didn't see a safety issue.

Diane Sawyer: I want to turn to you, Dr. Bray, because other questions have been raised about the three small kids in the house. What did you see?

Dr. Bray: Well what we saw was that the kids were being exposed to this, you know, yelling and screaming and I'm sure it affected them emotionally. But, again, it wasn't, they didn't seem to be in immediate danger in being subjected to that kind of problem there.

Diane Sawer: Dr. Papernow, what did you think?

Dr. Papernow: About what I saw?

Diane Sawyer: Yeah.

Dr. Papernow: We know that good parenting, we have a ton of research that says good parenting is both kind and firm, we call it authoritative parenting, and that kind of parenting creates the best results on every measure a parent could ever want. And what we saw was authoritarian parenting, firm and hostile and not kind, and we saw kids exposed to a lot of conflict, and we know that's bad for kids.

Diane Sawyer: But I have heard you also saw things on the air that you didn't think we should have done, and I want to hear it.

Dr. Papernow: When you expose viewers to a piece of violent tape over and over again, it's traumatizing to viewers.

Diane Sawyer: Too many times?

Dr. Papernow: Too many times.

Diane Sawyer: Because that was our point, to try to get understanding through all of this, that was our number one goal. And I want to say to you, because I've heard that you have said this, I'm taking the pledge here, it won't happen again. It really, will not happen again.

Looking back at all of this, should we have done this report?

Dr. Papernow: Absolutely.

Grandmother: I think, I just want to praise Kyle for how she has handled all of this.We've dealt with it for about three days, the last three days, and she has been super.

Dr. Papernow: You are an extraordinary young woman. You were very clear about what'sOK and not, and you're still very compassionate. That's extraordinary in a young woman of your age.

Kyle: I just want to say that I love my mom and my dad and my siblings all a ton and my grandparents, too, and that I've forgiven Lynn and my dad and that I'm hoping by showing this that it will get other people to, too.

Diane Sawyer: I want to thank you all. I know what it means for you to travel all this way and come in. Thank you for everything you said. Thank you, including our pledge.

Kyle: Something else I wanted to add. I wanted to thank everyone for all the support that they sent me. I got letters of just people who were just so, like, connected with my situation and who were just so supportive of me and I want to thank everybody who is part of that group of people because it definitely has helped get through these past few days a lot.

Diane Sawyer: Thanks, Kyle.

Dr. Papernow: And I want to thank ABC for focusing on stepfamilies because my experience in the feedback that I got, I don't know about you guys, is that people are starving for information, absolutely starving for information about how to make these families work and we have it.

Diane Sawyer: Thank you all. And this is a story and a topic that we will continue to report on and I should say that we have asked Joe and Lynn if they would like to come talk to us, too, and we hope that they will. It is now 47 minutes past the hour. One more note, by the way. Kyle is now 18 years old and a senior in high school, thinking about college.