US bans shock 'treatment' on children with special needs at Boston-area school

[Judi Lynn]

FDA ban brings an end to decades-long battle against use of ‘aversive therapy’ at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts

Ed Pilkington in New York
@edpilkington
Thu 5 Mar 2020 12.06 EST

The US government has banned an electric shock machine that is used to zap children and young adults with special needs in a school outside Boston – the only institution in the world known to practice the controversial punishment “treatment”.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken the extremely rare move of imposing a total ban on the production and use of the electric shock machines, known as electrical stimulation devices. It said the ban – only the third such comprehensive prohibition of a medical device in FDA history – was necessary to “protect public health”.

The ban brings to an end a decades-long battle against the use of electric shocks at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC) in Canton, Massachusetts. Disability groups and international human rights organisations have campaigned ceaselessly to outlaw the use of so-called “aversive therapy”, where pain is inflicted on vulnerable children in order to discourage them from self-harming or aggressive behavior.

More than 40 special needs residents of JRC, many with severe forms of autism, are understood to be on the electric shock regime. Managers of the center insisted the device was safe and pointed out that the use of shocks was approved in each case by the state family courts.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/05/us-bans-electric-shock-treatment-children-boston-area

[dewsgirl]

1. How in the hell was that still legal in 2020?😳

[janterry]

2. These were kids whose self-abusive behavior was so

bad that they would bloody themselves, regularly - give themselves concussions. With that kind of abuse, kids can cause themselves to go blind (for example)

I've never worked there - but I am aware of the work they did. They did it as an adversive in very extreme cases.

I don't know the overall efficacy - or any of the specifics (you can research it if you want to form a good opinion).

But their population was very specific and causing themselves very serious harm.

[dewsgirl]

3. Frightening that there would be so many children with these

issues. I would think medication would be a better option than EST.

[janterry]

5. maybe, I don't know

I mean, you could use a chemical restraint every time there was an incident (that happens all the time in places like this). But the downside would be that whole cycle (acting out, staff intervene physically - which is negatively reinforcing for some kids) and then hold them down and restrain them.

In the end, you'd basically be sedating them.

As I've said, I've never even been in the facility - so I'm not sure

but each case was approved by a judge (so it wasn't just on staff to develop the tx. plan).

If I had a child that was self-harming to that extent - I don't know. They also get big (as in, very difficult to intervene with physically).

For me, if this were my child and we tried a short trial of an adversive - IF the behavior were that damaging - and we tried it for a few weeks. Maybe. I'd sure want to try everything else before that. But if nothing else was helping, I don't know.

Having your child physically restrained by four or five staff isn't a great thing, either.

[dewsgirl]

6. No it sounds like a nightmare for the parents, children, staff

all involved.

[Squinch]

4. This has been going on for decades, too. There was an early Law & Order episode about it.

[Aristus]

7. Please tell me this article is dated 1905.

[janterry]

8. did you read the thread?

n/t

[cwydro]

11. Off topic, but how are things going at your clinic.

I know you’re essentially on the front line there.

Keep us posted!

[CaptYossarian]

9. Watch for the U-Haul that will take this machine to the border camps.

[Skittles]

10. when I was 14 I saw my dad after he had received electric shock treatment

he literally did not know who I was

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

12. I wasn't aware they were still using such