Shock Therapy For Kids: Torture or Cure? (CBS2)

[CoffeeCat]

This is so sick...so revolting. Yes, you can use shock, stab or poke someone in the eye with a hot rod--and their behavior will change. What in the hell is happening to this country?
--------------------------

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_073175920.html

The school that Jenkin Washington speaks of, The Rotenberg Center, is in Massachusetts but approved by New York State as a facility for extremely troubled youths. It uses modern-day electric shock therapy by way of back packs, belts--sometimes strapped to arms and legs. The shocks can last two to three seconds and are usually administered several times a week.

Ralph Antonelli of the Rotenberg Center was with the supportive parents explaining. He explained: ”We use supportive behavior modification fifty percent of the time. But it doesn't always work with the most severe cases. This is a last resort. We hate schizophrenic drugs. A judge must pre-approve each individual case”

But Antwone Nicholson, 17, began complaining to his adoptive mother Evelyn, and to his sisters, that ever since the Freeport School District sent him out of state for therapy, he's been suffering emotional and physical injuries as a result of being repeatedly shocked.

Evelyn Nicholson.told us she was “surprised to learn “ in phone calls ”he was scared, pitiful sounding, fearful and in pain.”

[LostinVA]

1. Good grief... it is really 2006?

[soothsayer]

2. I knew a teen who had shock therapy when he was in a ward. He

said it didn't make him better, but it made him want to PRETEND that he was better. This was in a psych ward years ago.

[patcox2]

3. You are better if you act better.

So, he could control his problem enough to appear "better?" Well, if you can control your problem, doesn't that mean you are better?

[soothsayer]

9. Sure thing, doctor Mengele! Whatever you say! Just don't shock

me again.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

13. Not necessarily...

It merely means the kid has learned to suppress his feelings. This is not a healthy thing. It's a time bomb waiting to go off...like the kids responsible for the Columbine shootings.

[patcox2]

14. Not necessarily.

Some forms of mental illness involve uncontrollable emotions and uncontrollable behavior. Depending on the circumstances. Controlling your emotions and behavior is not synonymous with "repression."

As to the columbine kids, well, we most of us are able to repress our feelings of rage and hate and repress our desire to kill people. Seems to me they did not repress them enough. Its way oversimplifying, if not downright false, to say they did it because they repressed their emotions. Were you their psychologist, that you would know?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. No. Most of us don't repress the feelings.

Most of us, fortunately, don't allow ourselves to act upon those feelings.

Repression of feelings...even negative ones...is not healthy. If you want negative feelings to subside you have to acknowledge their existence.

Of course, not ALL repressed feelings result in physical injury to others. Often they manifest themselves in more subtle forms. The fact that someone isn't physically injuring someone doesn't mean that they don't have an emotional problem that requires addressing.

I'd be happy to continue debating this with you; but your last comment embarks onto a mission of making this discussion too personal. Could we please continue without attempting to prove our respective points with insults? :-)

[LostinVA]

25. Yup -- like aversion therapy and being "ex gay"

[spotbird]

28. This is torture

not shock therapy.

Shock therapy is a controversial, but now painless procedure. Today the patient is heavily sedated before the "shock" is given to his brain.

[MadMaddie]

4. So we have regressed back to the early 1900's in America....

[noonwitch]

5. This is not ECT therapy, this is operant conditioning

Electroconvulsive therapy, as was widely used a half century ago, is rarely used in modern psychiatry. It was somewhat useful, in small doses, to treat depression. It was so badly abused in the past, and given to people at brain-damaging voltages, that it is not used anymore, as a whole.

This is different. This is shocking someone when he is "bad" to get him to change his behavior. It's using physical pain to try to change behavior. BF Skinner called it operant conditioning.

They are opposed to schizophrenic medication. Whatever that means. Schizophrenics need to be taking their medication.

[LostinVA]

6. Oh, I know what this is -- it's appalling

[gorbal]

19. I wouldn't say RARELY

ECT is actually used quite allot in cases of severe diisability that is not aided by medication. The effects can be extreemly dramatic, it can be the difference between a person being a babbling motionless vegitable, or getting up and walking and talking.

What THEY are doing, on the other hand ,IS DISGUSTING. How can that be legal? That sounds like a horror movie Kubrick might direct.

[Thor_MN]

24. Unless you define anymore as within the past ten years,

I'd have to disagree that it is not used anymore. I took a friend through a round of ECT about 8 or 9 years ago and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done, and what I dealt with was peanuts compared to what Lisa went through. The damn Docs kept saying "One or two more treatments.." which went on for three times a week for over a month. I was led to believe it was a maybe two week commitment to get her to and from the hospital and stay with her afterwards. Came close to costing me my job with the amount of work I was missing. While the ECT may have saved her life (she was diagnosed as being suicidal, long history of major depression with no relief from meds) it exacts a horrible price.

You are very correct about the article not being about ECT, it's more along the lines of a canine shock collar.

[MARALE]

7. This is a really stupid therapy

It does not give the child any control over his actions to do the right thing for the right reasons. I think that this is terrible. He\She just learns to fear certian actions, not realize the reasons for behaving in a correct manner. Why won't people learn that hurting children just teaches them how to be scared and angry. How horrible!

[Lochloosa]

8. Clockwork Orange!

[leveymg]

10. In 1982, I wrote that they would be doing this in 2009.

I was pretty close.

It was a series in the local Weekly newspaper called the Santa Cruz, CA Express. In the first installment, I wrote that in 2000 a Middle East energy war had been started with a terrorist attack when a US-made plane killed thousands of Americans.

I set that incident on a landing beach near Tripoli, Lybia, so I won't claim to be psychic. I wrote that the oil war led under a Republican President to the privatization of law enforcement, and a highly automated total surveillance society. The coercive behavior modification using electroshock was part of the effort to deal with "troubled youth" at risk for subversive, anti-social behaviors.

The series, "Santa Cruz in the Year 2002" was in ten installments, and ended in 2012.

In retrospect, I hate to say, things have turned out as I said they would.

See, http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2168617;
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_073175920.html

The school that Jenkin Washington speaks of, The Rotenberg Center, is in Massachusetts but approved by New York State as a facility for extremely troubled youths. It uses modern-day electric shock therapy by way of back packs, belts--sometimes strapped to arms and legs. The shocks can last two to three seconds and are usually administered several times a week.

Ralph Antonelli of the Rotenberg Center was with the supportive parents explaining. He explained: ”We use supportive behavior modification fifty percent of the time. But it doesn't always work with the most severe cases. This is a last resort. We hate schizophrenic drugs. A judge must pre-approve each individual case”

But Antwone Nicholson, 17, began complaining to his adoptive mother Evelyn, and to his sisters, that ever since the Freeport School District sent him out of state for therapy, he's been suffering emotional and physical injuries as a result of being repeatedly shocked.

Evelyn Nicholson.told us she was “surprised to learn “ in phone calls ”he was scared, pitiful sounding, fearful and in pain.”

[Shakespeare]

11. "we hate schizophrenic drugs" - THIS IS A SCIENTOLOGY ORGANIZATION

Google "Rotenberg Center scientology," and just take a gander at the results. Stupid fucking cult.

[LostinVA]

26. Bingo

[Shakespeare]

29. And it just makes me wonder TWO things...

One, does the state of NY (and, by extension, its taxpayers) know the place is scientology-related? I'm guessing no; California had NO idea one of its privately contracted curricula programs was straight from scientology until the SF Chronicle ran a series of articles exposing it.

And two, following from my previous thought, why in the HELL didn't the reporter discover this? Anytime you hear somebody saying "we hate psychiatric drugs," that should be an enormous red flag that you're dealing with scientology.

[Beaverhausen]

30. Scientologists were protesting the center- get your facts straight

The Patriot Ledger reported on September 25th that Scientology is
protesting the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts, a mental
health facility, claiming abuse of its patients.

"About a dozen protesters stood outside the Judge Rotenberg Center in
Canton yesterday, demonstrating against what it says are cruel treatment
programs at the facility. The private facility operates day and
residential programs for 145 adults and children with developmental
disabilities and behavioral problems. The children take classes and live
in residential facilities throughout Massachusetts, including Canton and
Stoughton. The center has been in Canton since 1996.

"'What makes this place stand out is their desire to stress aversives,
which means pain of many different sorts,' said Christopher Garrison,
Massachusetts director of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. The
group, co-founded by the Church of Scientology in 1969, includes Canton
residents. Protesters stood along Route 138 in front of the center during
the evening rush-hour. They held a sign that declared, 'Patients tortured
here,' and had another sign listing treatments they find inhumane, such as
electric shock treatment.

http://www.xenu.net/archive/WIR/wir7-27.html

[no_hypocrisy]

12. Just another attempt to control independent children who don't blindly

obey adults. Some kids need therapy with time with qualified doctors and perhaps temporary prescriptions. But shock therapy?! There's permanent damage physically, mentally, psychiatrically, emotionally, and psychologically. It's one step away from lobotomizing the kid IMHO. A spirited kid under the care of anal parents and/or teachers is a likely target for this kind of "remedy".

[depakid]

16. I'll withold any opinion until I see something other than a report

from the likes of CBS- or any other American "news" network.

All they're interested in is exploitation and getting a reaction out of people.

[Shakespeare]

17. I just emailed the TV station about their report.,

"RE Shock Therapy For Kids: Torture or Cure? by Jennifer McLogan: You might be interested to know--and I'm wondering why your reporter didn't find this out already--that the Rotenberg Center (the one doing the shock "therapy") is a Scientology organization. As you may know, Scientology is bizarrely opposed to the use of any psychiatric medications, and this shock treatment approach is very much in line with their teachings. I'd like to know why the state has approved this institution (one that uses bad science and bad medicine), and if they're even aware that it's run by the "church" of scientology. Just google "Rotenberg center scientology," and check out the connections yourself. The state of California recently found out that one of its privately contracted curricula sources was affiliated with scientology, and ended up scrapping the program. This sounds as if it may be a similar situation."

I'm guessing that the reporter didn't figure out the connection, and the state may have no idea they've sanctioned a scientology-affiliated group to use the state's money. NY residents might be very surprised and unhappy to learn about this.

[Beaverhausen]

31. see post #30

Scientology doesn't support this kind of treatment. They were PROTESTING the center. They don't run it.

[Delphinus]

18. I saw in the early 90s,

up close and personal, just how electroshock therapy kills people. Don't get me wrong - their bodies are still alive, but the personalities, their brains, are gone. I can't believe this is still an option.

[gorbal]

21. That's total BS

I deal with people who have ECT all the time, and if anything, it brings their personalities BACK. I have seen people who hadn't talked in months have ECT, and then they come back and you can't shut them up.

This article isn't about ECT, I just had to dive in there.

[Delphinus]

22. Everyone has their own experience -

I was simply relating mine.

[Raiden]

20. After watching Requiem For A Dream

I cannot support electro-shock therapy. Before I was pretty much ambivalent.

[HockeyMom]

23. I work with people who were children at Willowbrook

Remember that? I can say that 99.9% of these people are such gentile souls. So many of them have the mental capacities of infants. The joy that they show in such small kindnesses toward them is heartbreaking. One woman, who is in her 50s, blows me kisses when I change her diaper and feed her.

How anyone could EVER mistreat them is beyond me.

[LostinVA]

27. Geraldo was a hero where Willowbrook was concerned...

The actor and writer Malachy McCourt's stepdaughter Nina was in Willowbrook, and his second book describes this whole time period, including Gerald Rivera's involvement, in poignant detail.

[NYC]

32. Yes, Geraldo Rivera was a hero.

Changes resulted from his reporting.

[LostinVA]

33. Hard to remember, alas... *sigh*

[NYC]

34. But, we ought to remember.

He did a valuable service to those and many other people. He deserves praise for it. That won't change.

[Iniquitous Bunny]

36. My dad used to work for the Willowbrook Review panel in the late 70's.

The office specific to Willowbrook was shut down, but that piece Rivera did more good for disability rights than any other piece that hit the media. That's why no matter what goofball things Rivera has done, he will always have a huge element of my respect regardless. He gave a voice to those most vulnerable in our society. Because of that, profound and concrete changes were made in the lives of thousands of developmentally delayed people. :thumbsup:

[Iniquitous Bunny]

35. It makes no sense medically.

Shock therapy is used only under anesthesia for very, very severe causes of depression in which other treatments means have been exhausted and unsuccessful. It is not even effective for schizophrenia (which do have a lot of side effects, but again, this won't help).

(I'm in the medical field myself by the way.)

[Kailassa]

37. This center has a sickening history.

ABUSE UNCOVERED IN DEATH AT BRI
Victimization of 19-year old Linda Cornelison called
"inhumane beyond all reason"

... From 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., even though staff knew she was "not herself," her punishments escalated dramatically. By 7:00 p.m. she had received 8 spankings, 27 finger pinches, 14 muscle squeezes and had been forced to inhale ammonia at least five times and given several taste aversives, even though she was "obviously ill." In fact, she was receiving so many aversives that staff requested and were granted permission to increase her aversives from 40 per day to 95 per day. She received a total of 61 aversives on the day that she died. The total number of aversives on December 17 and 18 was greater than the number she had received in the entire month of December up to that point. She had always disliked the aversives, and was terrified of the ammonia, but protests or attempts to avoid them simply led to more punishment. ...

The program allowed the 19-year old to be limited to as few as 300 calories a day, 20% of her minimum calorie intake for the day. A dietary expert consulted by the investigator stated that it was impossible to maintain the woman's health on 300 calories a day, and that she needed at least 1737 calories a day to maintain her lowest acceptable weight, 108 pounds. Although JRC/BRI was under a court order to ensure that her weight did not slip below 90% of ideal body weight, the autopsy report showed that the woman, who had weighed 125 pounds when she was put on the food program less than a year before her death, weighed 90 pounds. In less than a year, she had lost 35 pounds, 28% of her body weight. ...

The Department found that despite a requirement that Level III -- the most intrusive and painful interventions -- be used only to control "extraordinarily dangerous behaviors that cause serious harm," JRC/BRI was restraining and shocking residents, denying them food and forcing them to smell ammonia inhalants for behaviors such as "nagging," "slouching," "silly laughing," "refusing to get up out of seat," "tearing paper," "staring at objects, "staring at thumb or fingers," or "holding one hand with another while looking at his thumb"...Residents are also shocked for trying to remove the electric shock device attached to them, or for grabbing at staff when they are shocked. One staff member stated that while VI's treatment plan called for her to be punished when she was aggressive, she was in fact only aggressive when she was punished.

In addition, despite requiring that these measures only be used when they are the least restrictive and most appropriate to a resident's needs, the Department found that JRC/BRI used these interventions even when far less intrusive and painful interventions were more effective...When aversives were lowered for the client who died on 12/19/90, her problem behaviors went down....

http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=625&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0