MY COMMENT WAS ACTUALLY ON ANOTHER COMMENT.. JPM OF NY.
ANNAof OK1:21PM March 03, 2010
AS THE MOTHER OF A CHILD WITH ASPERGER'S SYNDROME, I AM COMPLETELY OUTRAGED AND REDUCED TO TEARS.. HOW CAN EDUCATORS GET AWAY WITH DOING THAT TO A CHILD WHO IS SO VERY DEPENDENT ON THEM...IT IS UNBELIEVABLE. WHILE READING THIS ARTICLE I WAS JUST TAKEN OVER WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT EMOTIONS... SADNESS AND YES, ANGER! BUT AFTER ANGER CAME THE WORST ONE OF ALL.. FEAR. I AM SO DEEPLY EMPATHIC TOWARD YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS SON. WERE MINE TO EXPERIENCE THE INJUSTICE YOUR SON HAD INFLICTED ON HIM I JUST CANNOT IMAGINE WHAT MY ACTIONS WOULD BE. MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU BOTH. ANNA
ANNAof OK1:13PM March 03, 2010
My son was restained for the first time in his life after being transferred to a new district with no Autism class. He was put into the cognitively low ability class and the abuse started immediately because teachers were not trained in Autism. He began to exhibit at least twenty new behaviors and all eye contact was lost. Our lives have been destroyed by this.
Dawn Brazenorof NJ9:24AM March 01, 2010
I am a special need bus driver. I have several students that autistic. We are trained that a restraint is the last thing and only to keep the student from hurting themselves. I feel that most people do not learn how to care for these children. I also do personal care work with some of these students at home. It is very important that you learn each child so that you are able to determine what triggers will set them off. I feel that if you don't have the love and understanding to work with these children, you need to stay away from them. Early intervention with them and training seems to work very well with the ones that I have worked with.The sooner we start working with them the better we can train them to learn their own triggers and help to prevent problems. One thing that I have learned that seems to work with all my students that autistic is to not force my way into their space but take my time and slowly gain their trust and they allow me to come in. After a short while I am able to start making changes and help them.
Donaldof SC12:44AM January 17, 2010
My then 12 year old son with Asperger's syndrome was repeatedly thrown into multiple person prone restraints by his upstate NY public middle school staff members. Impartial Educational hearing officer wrote in her decision that my son had been subjected to at least 10 such restraints by untrained individuals for inappropriate antecedents over a four month period of time. She further wrote the evidence showed my son had been endangered and had suffered psychological and emotional harm from the restraints.
The special education teacher wrote, in one instance, that she layed over my son's back and a counselor had his legs and that he was restrained in such manner for approximately five minutes until he "fell asleep". The teacher did call parent after that particular restraint to inform the child's mother her son had fallen asleep and would not awaken. She neglected to mention he had "fallen asleep during the prone restraint".
My son did not "fall asleep". I doubt he fainted, as he had never fainted in his life and had not fainted during a twenty minute continuous prone restraint or during an off and on prone restraint of "approximately one hour".........restraints which school staff failed to inform parents of. I think it much more likely he went unconscious due to asphyxiation from an inherently dangerous prone restraint with the added risk of an adult lying over his back.
My son was never restrained for safety. He was restrained for punishment or for inept attempts at behavior modification.
In one instance he was thrown into a prone restraint by multiple adults for refusing to follow a directive to sit on center of a padded mat. For this infraction, he was restrained until he was "calm" (exhausted?). After such restraint, he began to bite his leg. He was ordered to stop biting his leg (no bite marks; non injurious self-stimulating behavior reactionary to immediately prior restraint.) so he was again thrown in another prone restraint until "calm" (exhausted?).
My son has post traumatic stress issues from this. He is a changed forever individual.
School staff acknowledged the behavior of concern for which my son was subjected to the vile restraints was stemming from his social deficits; however, none of these staff members would support any type of summer program to address the Asperger's related communication, social and behavioral deficits.
The Educational Law Administrative Hearing Officer opined "these same unrepentant individuals are capable of repetition"..........The school denied it had done any type of prone restraint which restrainers admitted to greater than one year later in the educational hearing.
At my son's school, a teacher was immediately suspended for punching a "neurotypical" student. There has been no accountability for the restrainers who nearly killed my child and who did endanger him and cause psychological and emotional harm as they ignored their CPI training and employed the multiple prone restraints.
JPMof NY12:52PM August 14, 2009
Having been a psychiatric nurse for 20 years and the mother of child with an ASD, this topic confounds me. I have restrained more people than I would like to admit. However it was always a last resort when all other interventions were ineffective. It was always as a protective mechanisn-danger to self or ohers. It was always under one-to-one constant supervision. It was always documnted. It was always supervisory and peer reviewed. It was always by professionsls trained in physical restraint. It was always concidered crisis intervention and not a behavior management tool. Any injury associated with a restraint was documented as an incident report. Restraints required a doctors order. Any attempt to restrain a patient without a coctors order is patient abuse, clear and sinple. All restraints are post-processed, meaning, the staff who restrained the individual reviewed their behavior to determine if there was any alternative to the restaint they may have missed, any injury caused to the patient because of their action, any way to make the restrain safer for the staff and the patient.
Restraint documenttion is always reviewed by external agencies,the state and the city for appropriateness. I amd amazd by some of the teacher remarks. Clearly they are untrained, unregulated and unsupported. That is dangerous. Restraint is not about domination, it is about protection.
Karenof NY12:44PM August 14, 2009
As an advocate for special needs for many years I have seen and reported many incidents to DMR and DPPC in Msassachusetts . It's sad to say that in all cases they were "unfounded". I would like someone to take an average of the incidents reported and how many were so called "unfounded" and I bet people would be astounded at the outcome! I find it disgraceful that these individuals without a voice are not being heard by the people that set the policies and procedures and yes I do blame the investigators,their departments and the courts. They should be ashamed of themselves for not beleiving the very people who are working with and caring for these individuals. I commend the aids and caretakers for standing up to these teachers/instructors and with the knowledge of knowing they are putiing their jobs in jeopardy. Why would someone lie about something this serious as assaulting a developmentally disabled person? what would they get out of it?? I just dont get it. I know I can sleep at night knowing I did everything in my power to protect these individuals but can these people that stamp the file UNFOUNDED? Maybe they should be the ones being investigated!
Mjof MA8:28PM August 13, 2009
why is it that special needs students, particularly, students with autism/aspergers are the ones being restrained and put into seclusion rooms? Why isn't "Johnny normal" ever treated like this? LAW SUIT, that's why. It seems as though the general public has a preconceived notion that children who have autism are wild, aggressive, head banging, scary violent kids that should be treated like dangerous animals. I am the Mother of a beautiful, sweet little boy who happens to have autism. He is non verbal and yes, sometimes he gets very frustrated when he can't convey his needs or desires. It is a very difficult situation. I admit. I went to the congressional hearing in Washington and heard first hand, the horrific testimony from parents that lost their children in a restraint situation.(Yes, they were actually killed) I heard the statistics of restraints, seclusion's, aversives and injuries. It is long past the time that these practices be stopped. (unless there is eminent harm to the child or someone else) These practices should never be used because a child flipped his desk or a child scratched the teacher. Furthermore, all teachers should have to be certified in special education. They should not be allowed to work under a waiver year after year. Why doesn't the DOE do their job? I have had some of the best teachers for my child. Unfortunetly, my son was abused by a teacher. Witnessed by 3 wonderful aides that reported it. If it not for them, who knows what would have happened. I don't want my child to be man handeled in school. The teacher nor the administrators did not report that my child was being restrained and I was not told that this could occur. Parents, ask your school administrators if they have a seclusion room and if they restrain and use aversives. Be informed, don't learn about it the hard way, like I did. After the damage was already done.
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gesReobreVede of AL 11:28AM July 07, 2010
mary of MA 5:38PM March 05, 2010
ANNA of OK 1:21PM March 03, 2010
ANNA of OK 1:13PM March 03, 2010
Dawn Brazenor of NJ 9:24AM March 01, 2010
Donald of SC 12:44AM January 17, 2010
JPM of NY 12:52PM August 14, 2009
Karen of NY 12:44PM August 14, 2009
Mj of MA 8:28PM August 13, 2009
Linda of MA 7:45AM August 13, 2009