Why is the school staff restraining my child? He can't help the way he is and what they are doing to him is only making his behaviors worse. Don't they understand this? They are breaking his spirit!

These are the words of so many parents.

Welcome to Families Against Restraint and Seclusion

Welcome to our blog. If you've clicked on this blog, most likely it's because you or someone you love has experienced the overuse or unnecesary use of restraint and seclusion. If that's the case, we're glad you've found us, but are sorry you've had need to. We're here to provide guidance and support to those who need it.

For everyone else, we wish to inform you that restraint and seclusion are very real and could happen to anyone's children. Every day children with disabilities are restrained or put in seclusion against their will with no parental notification for "noncompliance" and "behavior issues." We understand that under emergency conditions restraint and seclusion may be necessary as a last resort in order to protect the child from harm to self or others, but in many cases these incidences could be avoided.

It is our belief that all children should be entitled to a free, appropriate, and SAFE education in the public school system, as specified under IDEA.

Together, we can make this a reality for our children!

Comments or Questions?

If you have any comments or questions, please enter them here or send us an email at familiesagainstrestraint@yahoo.com. Please also include your state so we can best address your concerns.

Thank You!

Families Against Restraint and Seclusion

Our Mission Statement

To eliminate the over-use and unnecessary use of restraint and seclusion of children with disabilities in the public school system.

To promote the use of positive behavior support systems in all public schools.

To advocate for FBA's to be written by qualified certified behavior analysts.

To educate people about the dangers of restraint and seclusion.

Follow the eight steps below.

What You Can Do to Help Stop the Overuse and Unnecessary Use of Restraint and Seclusion In Your State

In order to create change, we must all band together to fight this as a group. We cannot do this alone. If you or someone you love has been restrained or placed in seclusion, or if you want the overuse and abuse of restraints and seclusions to stop, here are some things you can do:

1. Join our Yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RESTRAINT_INFO/ to find information, support, and how you can sign up to be a state leader, co-leader, or helper.

2. Write a letter and try to obtain at least 6-8 signatures requesting State P & A's to open an investigation on public schools in regards to the over-use and unnecessary use of restraint and seclusion. Address the letter to the person in charge of your state P & A group.

3. If your child has been physically restrained in school, file written complaints with your state DOE about your situation in regards to your child being restrained or put in seclusion. This may not do much but at least it will be documented and on file. This will create a paper trail.

4. If your state does not have real policies, make a request to the DOE to create policies and procedures for all public schools in your state to follow. Make sure you request a monitor system be created as part of the policy.

5. If your state has policies in place and the schools are not following them, write a letter to the P & A's and your local legislators (copy the DOE) requesting their help in getting the DOE to follow the state policy.

6. Work with legislators to help you make the policies part of state statutes.

7. Contact the Media and share your story. If you are afraid of retaliation, there are a number of ways your identity can be protected.

8. Encourge parents to follow the tips for what to do if their child has been or is suspected to have been restrained or placed in seclusion at school.

9. Report abuse to your local Child Protection Agency if your child has been injured physically or mentally.

10. Encourage parents to follow these tips for what to do if their child has been or is suspected to have been restrained or placed in seclusion at school.

Please remember, if you do nothing then nothing will ever change.

If you need help with any of the above, contact us at familiesagainstrestraint@yahoo.com or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RESTRAINT_INFO.

What to Do if Your Child Is Restrained or You Suspect Was Restrained

1. Take pictures of any visible injuries and document those injuries.

2. Take your child to his/her Pediatrician or the Emergency room for a complete physical examination.

3. Call the child abuse hotline and report it.

4. File a police report.

5. Send a "No Restraint" letter to the school principal, the district superintendent and/or members of the school board. You may want to either hand-deliver this or send it certified mail. A sample letter can be found here: http://www.bridges4kids.org/IEP/NoRestraintLetter.html
Note: This form may not stop the schools from restraining children but they will not be able to come back later on and say that you were aware that your child was being restrained and never objected.

6. File a complaint with your state Department of Education:
http://www.ed.gov/about/contacts/state/index.html?src=ln

7. File a complaint with you state Disabilities Rights Network (aka Protection and Advocacy):
http://www.napas.org/aboutus/PA_CAP.htm

8. Contact Families Against Restraint and Seclusion at http://www.blogger.com/familiesagainstrestraint@yahoo.com and share your experience. We understand what you're going through because we too have lived through it.

Please Sign petition to BAN deadly prone restraints

Don't forget to sign the Petition to ban the use of deadly face-down prone restraints - the form of restraint that has killed many children in residential treatment settings.

There are safe, alternative approaches.

Sincerely,
Isabelle Zehnder
Founder and PresidentCoalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse (CAICA)
http://caica.org/index.htm

Parents, There's No Such Thing as a Safe Restraint

There's No Such Thing as a Safe Restraint

Wanda K. Mohr, PhD, APRN, BC, FAAN

Monday March 10, 2008
In May 26, 2006, 7-year-old Angellika Arndt became a casualty of physical restraint. Angellika was in a Wisconsin day treatment program and had been restrained nine times in four weeks, for up to two hours during each episode. The face-down, prone restraint was initiated because she was gargling her milk during a meal and did not stop when told to do so by staff. The cause of her death was listed as “complications from chest compression asphyxiation.” In other words, she was suffocated. The convention in forensic pathology is to rule such deaths as homicides. The above scenario is a terrible situation: Angellika lost her life, her parents lost a child, and the staff members must live with the knowledge of the death and be haunted by the word “homicide.” Nothing newThe same events happen with depressing regularity in facilities that exist to provide therapeutics and mental health services. Although in the U.S. there are no official data on such deaths, one study found that between 1993 and 2003, 45 child deaths had been reported in newspaper articles or were the subject of lawsuits (Child Abuse and Neglect. 2006: 30[12]). In recent times, these deaths must be reported (www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html); however, it is not known how often they have occurred in the past. The dangers of restraint use have been known for some time, and the geriatric literature has been full of articles on the issue for many years. However, they did not receive the same attention from the mental health community until 1998. Following a series of articles in a Connecticut newspaper, Congress investigated the issue of restraint death in mental health facilities, and the psychiatric community began to examine coercive practices with greater scrutiny (www.courant.com/news/specia/restraint/day2.stm). In 2000, specific regulations on restraint use in psychiatric facilities were enacted by federal authorities and adopted by the JCAHO as well.Downright dangerousDespite this professional and federal attention, many people working in the field of mental health services remain unaware of the dangers of physical restraints. Some facilities still use the euphemism “therapeutic hold” when they mean restraint, despite the fact that there have been no therapeutic benefits established for these procedures. Some “aggression management” vendors may say that their restraint techniques are safe, but those companies that base their teaching programs on theory and research will stress that there is no safe restraint and that skillful de-escalation (and prevention of a restraint) are the safest alternatives available to staff members.There are a number of ways in which people can die from a restraint (http://ww1.cpaapc.org:8080/publications/archives/CJP/2003/june/june2003.asp). These causes include the following —• Death by aspiration • Blunt trauma to the chest • Malignant catecholamine-induced cardiac dysrrhythmias • Thromboembolism • Rhabdomyolosis with subsequent renal failure• Overwhelming metabolic acidosis from intense struggle Although any prone restraint has the potential to be deadly, children and adults receiving psychotropic medications are at great risk for asphyxiation in prone positions secondary to the abdominal adiposity, a result of second-generation antipsychotics. When a child who is forced into a prone position has a protuberant abdomen, he or she experiences significant reduction in the size of the respiratory cavity.Inaccurate assumptions and information Close examination of the episodes that led to a restraint death shows that staff members operated with some false assumptions and knowledge deficits about the process of physical restraint (J Child Adolesc Psych Nurs. 2001: 14[3]). One of the most dangerous false assumptions is — “If an individual can talk, then he or she can breathe adequately.” In many of the restraint-death scenarios, the medical record indicates that the restrained individual said, “I can’t breathe,” and staff members believed that he or she was “manipulating” them. Another dangerous assumption concerns the intensity of the struggle. Staff members, while using restraints, may believe that the forceful battling by a patient against those who are restraining him or her is an indication of opposition. Although it may be opposition, too often it is a struggle to breathe; the more the patient struggles, the more oxygen the patient uses, creating increasing hypoxia. In many death cases, patients had actually suffered respiratory arrest, but the staff thought that they had become compliant, holding them down for a few more minutes to make certain that they were calm.Certainly, there could be times when there is no other alternative but to restrain; however, these situations are rare. Across the country, psychiatric centers of excellence have committed to eliminating the use of restraint and have succeeded in this goal. Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are two states that have reduced their restraint use dramatically; however, little discussion currently exists in the New Jersey psychiatric community about efforts to follow their examples. Websites of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Association of State Hospital Program Directors (NASHPD) have information that contains best practice models, curricula, and information about training. New Jersey nurses can learn much from others’ efforts to stop these dangerous practices.

Sample bill to reduce and control restraint and seclusion on children with disabilities in public schools

Please take a look at the sample bill below to help you write a bill to reduce restraint and seclusion in your state.


Use of Restraint and Secured Seclusion on Students with Disabilities

Section 1003.57 (3)

(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that the least restrictive means of intervention be employed based on the needs of the individual student with disabilities. It is the policy of this state that the use of restraint and seclusion on students with disabilities is justified only as an emergency safety measure to be used in response to imminent danger to the students or others.

(a) Restraint and secured seclusion are interventions that are potentially physically and psychologically dangerous to students and school personnel. Students with disabilities are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of restraint and secured seclusion. For these reasons, restraint should be used only in emergency situations (where) in which there are no less intrusive alternative strategies, and secured seclusion should not be permitted under any circumstances.

(b) Definitions

1. “Restraint” refers to any manual method or physical or mechanical device, material, or equipment attached to or adjacent to the student’s body that the student cannot easily remove and that restricts freedom of movement or normal access to student’s body. This definition includes mechanical restraint with a device, manual or physical restraint, and use of medication to manage the student’s behavior that is not a standard treatment for the student’s condition.

2. “Secured Seclusion” refers to the removal of a student from the educational environment or activity and involuntary confinement of the student in a room or an area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. Actual physical contact is not necessary; a show of authority or a threat of force or consequences is sufficient. “Secured Seclusion” does not include the use of brief “time-out” interventions.

3. “Time-out” refers to a period of time in which the student is placed in a less reinforcing environment as the result of displaying a well-defined and articulated behavior. It is not synonymous with extended periods of seclusion. With some students, time-out may have no effect on their behavior and could actually reinforce the targeted behavior. Time-out should never be used as a punishment or a negative consequence of a child’s behavior. It is never appropriate for instructional staff to threaten a child with the use of time-out.

(c) Restraint

1. Use of restraint shall be limited to those emergency situations where there is a demonstrable, imminent and ongoing risk of significant physical danger to self or others.

2. Restraint shall never be permissible as a behavioral intervention.

3. Restraint shall never be permissible solely for property damage, unless the behavior otherwise qualifies under (c)(1) above.

4. Restraint shall never be permissible as a response to a behavior(s) that has already taken place unless the behavior otherwise qualifies under (c)(1) above.

5. All school personnel interacting with students with disabilities shall receive initial training and periodic refreshers in district approved emergency procedures for safe restraint of students. Such procedures shall be reported to the (Your state DOE) Department of Education through the district’s Special Policies and Procedures Manual.

6. Prone restraints shall always be prohibited.

7. Any student with a disability being restrained shall be medically evaluated by a physician, nurse or other qualified medical personnel as soon as possible following the incident.

(d) Seclusion

1. Use of secured seclusion shall be prohibited for students with disabilities under any circumstances.

(e) Time-out

1. Time-out will be permitted under the following circumstances: 1) It is part of a behavior intervention plan (BIP) developed for that student from a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and documented on that student’s individual education plan (IEP); 2) It is preceded by other interventions utilizing positive behavioral supports and only used if those interventions, which must be documented, are not effective; 3) It takes place in the classroom or other environment where the class educational activities are taking place; 4) The child is never physically prevented from leaving the time-out area; 5) The child is constantly observable by an adult; 6) The time-out area and process must be free of anything that would be likely to embarrass or humiliate the child; 7) The time-out ends immediately when the child is calm enough to return to his/her seat, but in no event exceeds one minute for each year of the child’s age (i.e. - a five-year-old child cannot be in time-out longer than five-minutes at any one time).


(f) Reporting Requirements

1. Each incident of restraint shall be followed up by a written report within 24 hours from the time the restraint ended. If the restraint occurred on a day preceding a weekend day or school holiday, or if school is closed for any reason on the succeeding day, the report shall be completed by the end of the next school day.

2. Each incident report shall include, but not be limited to, the following: 1) Name or initials of the student; 2) Date and time of incident, including duration; 3) Type of restraint used; 4) Location of incident; 5) Names and job titles of all staff involved in the incident; 6) Names and job titles of all staff observing the incident; 7) Names or initials of all students observing the incident; 8) A specific description of the behavior that resulted in the restraint; 9) A statement of how the determination was made that the criteria in (2) above were satisfied; 10) A description of all interventions (if any) that were attempted prior to the restraint; 11) A copy of the report of the physical assessment required by (c)(7) above, and 12) Date of the most recent Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), and a copy of the current BIP.

(g) Notification Requirements

1. The parent or guardian of a student with a disability who has been restrained shall be contacted by telephone as soon as practically possible, but in no case longer than one hour from the time the restraint ended.

2. If school personnel are unable to reach the parent or guardian they shall document all attempts including the name of the individual(s) calling, the time of the call(s) and the number(s) called.

3.. A copy of the incident report required in (f)(1) above shall be provided to the parent or guardian as soon as possible but in any event no later than 24 hours from the time the restraint ended. The school shall obtain the parent’s signed acknowledgement that he or she was notified and shall retain such acknowledgement on file. If the restraint occurred on a day preceding a weekend day or school holiday, or if school is closed for any reason on the succeeding day, the parent or guardian shall be provided the report by the end of the next school day.

4. A copy of the incident report shall be provided to the (Your State DOE) Department of Education Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (FLDOE – BEESS).

5. A copy of the incident report shall be provided to the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc., the protection and advocacy system for the State of (Your state).

(h) Oversight

1. A copy of the incident report (with student names redacted) shall be provided to a community review group consisting of parents and school personnel. Such group shall be formed specifically in each county for the purpose of conducting timely reviews of each use of restraints in that county’s schools. School districts will cooperate with parents of students with disabilities in setting up and participating in community review groups. At least half of the members of any such group shall be parents of students with disabilities.

Is Your School on Our "List"?

The following schools have been identified or reported as schools that have allegedly over used or unnecessarily used restraints and/or seclusions. Is your school on the list? Should it be? If so, please email familiesagainstrestraint@yahoo.com with the school name, school district, city, and state. Your contact information will be kept confidential.

Disclaimer: This list is accurate to the best of our knowledge. Please be advised that we have not personally investigated the schools on this list, but have compiled this list from published newspaper articles and/or received reports from parents, advocates, and/or others concerned about the welfare of children. We are not accusing any school of wrongdoing, only reporting "allegations" for informational purposes only.

1. Adel Elementary School, IA (Seclusion)
2. Artman Elementary School (K-3), Hermitage School District, Hermitage, PA (Restraint/Seclusion)
3. A. Russel Knight, Cherry Hill School District, Cherry Hill, NJ (Padded closet for seclusion and use of physical restraints)
4. Athens Middle School, Athens, TX (Abuse)
5. Bancroft School, Haddonfield, NJ (Residential Facility - death)
6. Bret Harte Middle School, San Jose School District, San Jose, CA (Restraint by Handcuffs)
7. Buffalo School #67, Buffalo, NY (Sexual Abuse)
8. Chestatee Elementary, Cummng, GA 30040
9. Clara Barton School, Cherry Hill School District, Cherry Hill, NJ (Seclusion/Padded Room)
10. Clover Hill Elementary School, Chesterfield County, VA (Restraint)
11. Cooper Hill Elementary School, Cherry Hill, NJ (Restraint)
12. Foothill Elementary School, Brigham City, UT, Box Elder County (Restraint/Seclusion)
13. Garden City Elementary School, St Lucie County, FL
14. Genesee Intermediate School District, MI
15. Genesis Academy, Nashville, TN
16. Heartspring, Witchita, KS
17. Hephzibah Elementary School, Richmond Cty, Georgia (Abuse, Seclusion)
18. Hutchinson Elementary School, Laurel Highlands School District,
Uniontown, PA (Restraint)
19. John B. Ward in Du Quoin, IL
20. Judge Rotenberg Education Center, Canton, MA (Also uses Electroshock)
21. Longstreth Elementary School, Philiadelphia School District, Philadelphia PA (Restraints)
22. Kilmer School, Cherry Hill, NJ
23. Kingston Elementary School, Cherry Hill, NJ
24. Lantana Middle School, Palm Beach, FL (Restraint)
25. Liberty Hill Academy, Charleston, SC
26. Madison County Elementary School, Madison County, AL (Rape)
27. Manatee Elementary. St. Lucie County, FL
28. Martha Washington Elementary, Philadelphia, PA (Abuse)
29. Mason Middle School, Killeen, TX (Restraint Death)
30. Millet Learning Center , Bridgeport, MI (Restraint Death)
31. New Haven Elementary Preschool, Mason County School District, WV (Physical/Emotional Abuse)
32. Northern Potter Children's School, Potter County, PA
33. Oak Hammock K-8, St Lucie County, FL
34. Parchment High School, MI (Restraint Death)
35. Pelican Elementary School, Lee County, FL
36. Pinellas Central Elementary, Pinellas County FL
37. Red Apple Elementary School Racine, WI
38. Robert Frost Jr. High School, Schaumburg, IL
39. Royal Palm Academy, Ft. Myers, FL
40. Schaumburg Township Elementary School District 54, Schaumburg, IL
41. SummitQuest Academy Ephrata, PA (Residential Facility)
42. Thomas Paine Elementary School, Cherry Hill, NJ (Seclusion)
43. Three Bridges School, Readington School District, Hunterdon
County, NJ (Abuse/Restraint)
44. Trafalgar Elementary School, Lee County, FL
45. Walnut Hills Elementary, Waukee, IA
46. Waukee Elementary School, Waukee, IA
47. Wilton High School, CT

Added 11/20/2007 - Please Take our Restraint and Seclusion Poll

Has your child ever been restrained or put in seclusion in the public school system?
	Restraint
	Seclusion
	Both
	Check here if your were notified by the school
	Check here if you were not notified by the school
pollcode.com free polls

In Defense of Special Needs Children

12/2007

The world is watching Cherry Hill

Please sign our petition
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/cherry-hills-shame

In Defense of Special Needs Children

The recent discovery that a padded closet was being used for children with Autism in the Cherry Hill School system was absolutely shocking and broke all of our hearts. That such an atrocity was set in place was no accident, but instead is the inevitable result of the continuing degradation of Special Education by our School Administration under Superintendent David Campbell, and his Director of Special Education, Isreala Franklin.

Before the 2007 School Board election, the Campbell Administration promised there would be no cuts to special education; they lied. Within a month more than two dozen special education aides were fired. And that was just the beginning. In the months that followed, the Campbell Administration slashing of resources for Special Education lead to such severe understaffing that numerous schools lack trained therapists, and dozens of children have been denied their much needed therapies.

The Campbell Administration has also devastated home instruction services for the most needy children, and the NJ State Department of Education has just ruled that they violated state special education law. This ground breaking decision is not only a vindication for the many families who have suffered under the Campbell Administration, but it is a direct call for reform.

How many times are Special Needs children going to be treated like second class citizens by the Campbell Administration? How many more times are we going to be lied to and betrayed? And how many more nightmares are yet to be uncovered and revealed? For far too long Special Needs children in Cherry Hill have been bled by budget cuts, loss of staff and lack of therapists. Our children cannot stand further loss.

It is for all these reasons, and the many other wrongs committed against families with special needs children, that we, the undersigned, call for the removal of Special Education Director Franklin and for the creation of a new oversight committee by the Board of Education, so that the grievous offenses committed against the most vulnerable of our children may finally be dealt with and corrected.

Special Education Alliance http://us.f454.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=SEA@hnva.net http://www.cherryhillsea.com/

This Abuse Must Stop!

"This Abuse Must Stop!" Parents pull son from school over restraint issue

By Donna C. Gregory NEWS EDITOR

Chesterfield County, Virginia
December 19, 2007

Priscilla and Chip Greene share some family time with their three sons (from left), Travis, 6, Coleman, 9, and Parker, 11.

A Clover Hill Elementary second-grader is getting a longer than normal holiday break after his parents withdrew him from school amid claims of physical abuse.

Chip and Priscilla Greene have removed their son, Coleman, from Clover Hill following a series of incidents where he was allegedly physically restrained by a special education aide. The situation escalated on Nov. 30 when the Greenes received a call from school, asking them to come pick up Coleman, who suffers from Down's Syndrome and ADHD. When Chip Greene arrived at school, a staff member who the family chose not to identify, advised him to check Coleman for bruises. A physician later confirmed bruising on Coleman's back, shoulder and chest and a scratch on his neck. Coleman has not been back to school since.

For the Full Story, click the following link: http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-abuse-must-stop.html

News Articles

Below are links to articles regarding restraint and seclusion use (and alleged misuse) in public schools:

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High Court Says No to Dismissing Panel from Suit

Saturday, March 15, 2008
By BOB LOWRY
Times Staff Writer bob.lowry@htimes.com
The Huntsville Times

Madison County board must face rape case

MONTGOMERY - The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday refused to dismiss the Madison County Board of Education as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by girl who claimed she was raped in 2002, when she was 11 years old, by her physical education teacher.

However, the high court did dismiss the board's personnel director, Jim Nash, as a defendant.

The Board of Education and Nash had claimed immunity under state agency immunity, the 11th Amendment to the Constitution and qualified immunity.

For the Full Story, click the following link:

http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/03/high-court-says-no-to-dismissing-panel.html

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Parents Outraged Over Discovery at Buffalo School #67

Updated: March 13, 2008 06:40 PM

EDTBUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Parents wanted to give the school board an earful at Wednesday night's meeting about alleged sexual abuse of a student.

News 4's Alysha Palumbo reports parents had to just sit on their hands.

Parents outraged at the allegations of sexual abuse at School 67 took their concerns to the Buffalo School Board Wednesday night, but they weren't heard because the deadline to speak was Tuesday.

For the Full Story, click the following link:

http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/03/parents-outraged-over-discovery-at.html

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Suits ask Mason schools be held liable for teacher's abusive actions

3/14/2008 7:00 AM

By Lawrence Smith -Mason Bureau
The West Virginia Record

POINT PLEASANT - The Mason County Board of Education has been named as a co-defendant in two civil suits alleging responsibility for injuries two special needs students suffered at the hands of their teacher.

That teacher, who is named a co-defendant, has a pending suit against the Board challenging an administrative law judge's decision upholding the Board's decision terminating her for the alleged acts.

On Dec. 19, two Mason County residents, identified only as M.F. and A.C., filed separate lawsuits alleging their children, identified only as C.F. and J.C., respectively, were improperly disciplined by their New Haven Elementary preschool teacher, Katherine Parrish. According to the suits, which are identical in wording expect for the names involved, the infants suffered "physical and emotional abuse" as a result of Parrish's actions.

For the Full Story, click the following link:

http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/03/3142008-700-am-by-lawrence-smith-mason.html

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Athens Educator Put on Leave for Allegedly Striking Special Education Student

By Rich Flowers

An Athens Middle School teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave while the school district investigates an allegation she struck a middle school student. Superintendent Dr. Fred Hayes did not identify the teacher under investigation, but said the complaint involves a special education teacher with 17 years experience and a 13-year-old boy.

“The allegation is that the teacher struck the student after he head-butted her. She popped him in the back of the head with an open hand,” Hayes said. “We take it very seriously. We’re dealing with it.”

The teacher was not escorted from the campus, but has been removed from the classroom. Hayes said there had been no prior allegations of student abuse concerning the teacher.

For the Full Story, click the following link:

http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/03/athens-educator-put-on-leave-for.html

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Teen Says Teacher Threw Him to the Floor

March 8, 2008
By NATALIA MIELCZAREK
Staff Writer
The Tennessean.com

The parents of a 14-year-old boy say he sustained face injuries, including carpet burns and swelling, after his teacher threw him to the floor Wednesday morning.

Donovan Marshall has attended Genesis Academy in Nashville since July, said his mother, Angelique Harris. The 24-year-old private school works with students who have emotional, mental and behavioral issues.

The school's executive direc tor, Terry Adams, declined to comment on the particulars of the case, citing privacy laws. He said the school investigates all incidents.

For the Full Story, click the following link:

http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/03/teen-says-teacher-threw-him-to-floor.html


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Lawsuit: Readington School Aides Failed to Report Abuse by Teacher

by Ralph R. Ortega/The Star-Ledger
Wednesday March 05, 2008, 5:41 PM

Paraprofessionals and school aides failed to report the alleged physical and emotional abuse of special needs children by a teacher at a Hunterdon County school over a two-year period, according to a lawsuit filed by parents of one of the students.

According to the lawsuit, the child was struck, grabbed, pushed, pinched, restrained, assaulted, battered and locked in a bathroom while attending a morning preschool autism class at the Readington School District during the 2004 and 2005 academic years.

For the full story, click the following link:

http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/03/lawsuit-readington-school-aides-failed.html

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Cherry Hill Parents Outraged Over 'Quiet Room'
Published: November 28, 2007
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS 3) ―Nov 28, 2007






Photo Credit: Lisa Grams

Outraged parents attended a school board meeting Tuesday evening to discuss the discovery of a padded 'quiet room' inside a Cherry Hill school last month.

Parents met with school officials to discuss the room during a public meeting at the Clara Barton School on Rhode Island Avenue in Cherry Hill.

The room was first disclosed during an October meeting where parents were apparently told the padded room may have been used for children with autism and behavioral problems.

Concerned parent Lisa Grams used her cell phone to snap photos of the small, windowless storage room which was lined with gym mats.

"It made me sick. It made me absolutely sick," said Grams.

For the Full Story, click the following link: http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/01/cherry-hill-parents-outraged-over-quiet.html

The Special Education Alliance:
http://www.cherryhillsea.com/paddedroom.htm

View photos of padded closet w/description:
http://revpage.com/tips/cherry%20hill/russell_knight_school.htm

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Best Practices in Behavior Management
By Kathi Magee
Courier Times Online - Autism Blog
November 20, 2007
Reprinted with Permission

After several years of writing and re-writing their guidelines on restraint and seclusion, the [Children's Welfare League of America] CWLA came to realize that the bigger problem was that restraint and seclusion could not possibly be part of any "Best Practice" approach. These techniques needed to be prevented and eliminated as much as possible. Restraint and seclusion serve no educational value and these practices injure and in some cases led to the death of special needs children.

The five goals for the Best Practices in Behavior Support and Intervention are:
1. Staff will use restraint and seclusion in emergency situations only when absolutely necessary to maintain the safety of themselves, [students], and others.
2. Eliminate the unnecessary use of restraint and seclusion.
3. Reduce the risk of deaths.
4. Reduce injuries among [children] and staff.
5. Reduce the duration of restraint and seclusion.
6. Increase debriefing with children, family members, and staff.

*Please note: As these goals were written to include children in residential facilities, I have substituted the word "resident" with the word "student" or "children" as necessary.

For the Full Story, click the following links:
Courier Times Online Autism Blog: http://www.courierpostonline.com/blogs/autism.html
Families Against Restraint and Seclusion News Articles: http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/01/best-practices-in-behavior-management.html

To view the photos, click the following link: http://revpage.com/tips/cherry%20hill/russell_knight_school.htm
Photo credit: Lisa Grams
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Shackles case prompts policy change
Published: Thursday, November 15, 2007
By Nancy Remsen
Burlington Free Press Staff Writer

An investigation into the use of shackles, deputies and a police cruiser to move a 7-year-old boy with mental illness between two hospitals led this week to a change in transport policy at Rutland Regional Medical Center.

The change in policy comes after Vermont Protection and Advocacy Inc. criticized the hospital for placing a child in a cruiser wearing metal handcuffs for the 75-mile trip to The Retreat in Brattleboro without medical personnel. The incident occurred a year ago.

For the Full Story, click the following link: http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2007/11/shackles-case-prompts-policy-change.html

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Mother of boy with Down's sues Randolph, state school boards, school employees

10/31/2007 7:00 PM
By Cara Bailey -Kanawha Bureau

CHARLESTON - The mother of an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with Down's Syndrome has filed a personal injury lawsuit against the school where her son attended and several school employees who were supposed to help him.

Brenda Renee Barrows, of Randolph County, filed a suit Oct. 15 in Kanawha Circuit Court on behalf of her son, Barry Barrows, who attended Elkins Third Ward Elementary.

The suit names the Randolph County Board of Education and the West Virginia Board of Education as defendants, along with several school officials, teachers and aides. Barrows claims the actions of the defendants were "shocking and reprehensible. "

During the 2006-07 school year, Brenda Barrows went to the school to deliver medication for her son. Upon arriving, she claims she found her son strapped in the Easy Stander chair.

"It was reported to Brenda Renee Barrows that Barry Charles Barrows was placed in the Easy Stander as a punishment due to giggling or laughing during reading," the suit says.

For the Full Story, click the following link: http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/01/mother-of-boy-with-downs-sues-randolph.html

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Unlawful Restraint of 3 Year Old?

By Dan O'Donnell
Story Created: Oct 11, 2007
Story Updated: Oct 30, 2007

Click here to listen to Dan's report

For Hasmig Tempesta, it was the surprise of her life.

Her autistic 3 year-old son Zachary attends the Early Childhood program at Red Apple Elementary School in Racine. While at home, he receives treatment from an autism therapist.

"She went to check in on [Zachary] at school and came back the next day to ask me if I knew he was being belted into a chair," Hasmig said. "Of course I said no. She explained that any time that he was sitting down, he was belted into that chair. She was there for an hour and a half and said he was in that chair for about 50 minutes."

That chair is known as a Rifton Toddler Chair and, according to the company's website, is intended to be used solely by children with physical disabilities and not as a behavioral restraint.

For the Full Story, click the following link: http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2008/01/unlawful-restraint-of-3-year-old.html

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Bus Aide Accused of Hitting Special Needs Child
By TERESA LANEPalm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 28, 2007

PORT ST. LUCIE — A public school bus aide was arrested on a charge of felony child abuse today after a video onboard the bus shows the woman swatting at a mentally handicapped child and roughly pulling him up by his arm. Belinda "Gail" Daniels, 45, of the St. Lucie County School District was removed from bus duty after the Sept. 12 incident and denied hitting the passive 7-year-old boy. An on-board video shows Daniels becoming frustrated after seeing the boy had dropped his book bag in the floor.She asks loudly, "Boy, what did you do? Get in that seat," before swatting her hand in his direction and pulling him up from the floor by his left arm. Police declined to name the school. Click here for full story.

For the Full Story, click the following link: http://farsnewsarticles.blogspot.com/2007/11/st-lucie-county-bus-aide-accused-of.htmlhtml

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Special ed teacher tied to abuse of 3 autistic boys
September 22, 2007
BY STEFANO ESPOSITO AND SHAMUS TOOMEY Staff Reporters

He is a 12-year-old autistic boy who never learned to speak. The Hoffman Estates boy's chirps and moans help his parents understand his moods. And he has a special touch-screen computer with "happy," "sad," and "mad" faces. So when the boy came home from Robert Frost Junior High School in August, he had no way to explain the horrible bruises on one of his shins. But the boy's parents learned Friday that their son's trusted special education teacher, 30-year-old Patrick E. McCarthy of Palatine, has been charged with criminally abusing three autistic students at the Schaumburg school, including their son. Click here for full article.

For the Full Story, click the following link: http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/569355,CST-NWS-teach22.article

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Lee County Florida School Board Votes Against Independent Investigation
Article By Jason Wermers jwermers@news-press.com

Caitlyn Elders, an 8-year-old with autism, was placed in a brick-walled time-out room and manhandled several times by staff at Pelican and Trafalgar elementary schools, her parents told the Lee County Florida School Board Tuesday evening. Kellie Elders, held up photographs of her daughter's bruised forehead for board members, district staff and media members to see. She said Caitlyn sustained those bruises after she banged her head against the brick wall, an action that is not unknown for children with autism who feel distressed. And for the second straight meeting, Robert Chilmonik failed to get support from his fellow board members for an independent investigation of the district's Exceptional Student Education program.

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Videos

Below are links to video footage of alleged inappropriate restraints or seclusions:

Video Interview with Mother of Boy with Down Syndrome who was Restrained in School

A local parent says a public school not only failed her special needs child, but it also sent him home with bruises. She says her son was restrained, a technique that only made his behavior worse. FOX 26's Greg Groogan has more.

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Video of Time Out Room in Lee County Florida
The following link is to a video of a small, empty, windowless, brickwalled "time out room" that is being used in Lee County, Florida. The use of a "time out room" is legal to use in Florida, however there are no written policies for this district to follow and it is up to school principals to determine their use. According to a statement in this video, ANY CHILD can be placed in this room at any time. Initially the principal showed investigators the purported room, only to have shown investigators the WRONG room. There was no explanation for why a different room was initially shown. Parents witnessed their children being physically restrained in a prone position in this room, a type of practice that has no research basis to support the use of, a type of restraint that is extremely deadly.

http://www.winknews.com/features/education/9055756.html?


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Video of Girl in Timeout for 3.5 hours at Waukee Elementary School

This video shows eight-year-old Isabel Loeffler in a timeout room for three-and-a-half hours at Walnut Hills Elementary school in Waukee. Isabel's parents and educators had agreed to videotape her day at school to analyze what was happening just before her outbursts. The video was recorded December 7, 2005. Isabel's parents filed an administrative law case against the school. A judge ruled in their favor, but Waukee school officials are appealing.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070805/VIDEO01/70803039/1001

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Featured Article: Abbie's Story

In late January of 1999 I gave a of a video of my child showing school staff using dangerous and painful physical restraints on Abbie to the Barnstable Police Detective Reed Hall. . Abbie was restrained violently for not sitting in her chair, not blowing her nose and not getting off the floor when instructed to by the teacher. She was being subjected to these methods for being non compliant with the teaching staff. Abbie only hit and or pushed the teachers when they became physical with her but was not being a danger to herself or others. The fact that these teaching staff would use the type of forceful restraint technique (which included pain compliance holds, wrist twists, half and full nelson and take downs) as shown on the video we felt rose to the level of child abuse and assault and battery. The investigation went on until March 23, 1999 and we were told that the police were dismissing the case since it was some sort of protocol or method used on children with autism. I was not given any further information on why they would come up with this sort of excuse for dismissing the case.

Parent Stories

2008

NY is truly archaic. Here in California we ended the quiet room fiasco in the early Eighties after a few clients were accidentally killed while wrestling them into the quiet rooms. Before that I used them for two years as a staff in residential. They replaced quiet rooms with temporary physical holds to calm the client down and use of "clears" where when a client became disruptive the area was cleared of other clients and staff would monitor the upset client from a safe distance until he/shecalmed down. The "clears" worked the best. The quiet rooms are not only dangerous and escalate the clients more, but staff has a tendency to overuse them and get too rough. Female staff where I worked were oddly the ones who demanded more control over the clients and then the male staff being chivalrous would oblige thereby escalating the whole thing further. As a staff who had to do this sort of thing, it was truly a nightmare.Demand they stop using the quiet rooms! They are over twenty years behind what we do here in California and they get almost three times the federal money we get here!

What a drag to have to worry about how your kids are being treated at school, above and beyond the organic worries that go with being a special needs parent. On to the legislators!

Lisa
Pittsford, New York

2007
My name is Tia I have a special needs son that is 7 years old. On 10-10-07 my Son came home from school with bruises and marks on his arms, shoulders and back. Trevor has a language impairment and it is difficult for him to express what happened in the past. On this occasion he told me that the aides squeezed his arms and took him outside behind the classroom and pushed him into the wall. He said she was mad at him and that he was scared. I took pictures and the next morning took Trevor to the pediatrician who also took pictures and documented what happened. I contacted the school and asked for an incident report. I also provided them with a copy of the pictures. A school investigation was conducted. Both aides were removed from the classroom pending the outcome of their investigation. I also filed a police report and gave the detective a copy of the pictures. He interviewed Trevor and took additional pictures. Yesterday the HR department informed me that there investigation was completed and they found no evidence that their staff did anything inappropriate. The aides will be returned to class on Thursday. The police have indicated that the incident does to seem to rise to the level of abuse or assault.

I am in shock over this. How is it OK for him to come home with bruises inflicted by adults that are supposed to be trained to work with special needs children. I do not know what to do or how to approach Trevor being in the same class with the adults who hurt him. He does not want to go to school, is not sleeping or eating well and is very emotional. I am sad, angry and frustrated. I need help and advice on what I can and should do next.

Thank you,

Tia

2007
I live in mountain city, Tennessee and I also have a 7 year old down syndrome/autism child whom the school has been restraining in a chair for time out. I saw one incident last school year of this and questioned these methods. By a staff members own admittance, it is happening again this year. This very much needs to be stopped. My daughter cannot talk and therefore, cannot tell me anything about it. You wind up sending your child to school and never knowing what is happening to them. I feel this is cruel and inhuman treatment. Special needs children are humans and should not be treated like animals.
Kim
Mountain City, TN

2007
I was so happy to find this site, I nearly cried. Thank you so much for doing this. So few people have any idea as to how badly this is needed. My son was nearly ruined psychologically by the school district last year. He always loved school, then suddenly, he told me he didn't want to go to school anymore -- he wanted to stay home with me. I was stunned...he LOVED school. What happened? Then I thought about it...I wasn't hearing about anyone from school like I did the year before -- not students or teachers -- and he just refused to talk about school. He has Asperger's and ADHD, so he is not very good with describing abstract thoughts...well, he can't. And the school knows that. Therefore, my son couldn't tell me what was wrong, and despite my constant asking, they kept telling me everything was fine. It was NOT fine. Last October, the school sent me a letter describing a unilateral "change in his plan." I didn't agree to it. I wrote a letter informing them they had no right to make a unilateral change in anything, and I demanded a meeting. It was at this meeting that they said he was, "violent" and "out of control." Understand, my son is very meek. I have seen him have plenty of chances to act out violently, and he NEVER has...he sits there and takes it. I told them this didn't sound like my son at all. They brought in a "behavior specialist" to observe him without our knowledge or consent -- she had PAGES of notes on him, but we were never allowed to see them...they suddenly "disappeared." We tried for 8 months to see them -- we were finally told that if we've asked more than once to see data and haven't received anything then the data, "probably didn't exist." But I KNOW it existed...I saw this person paging through it during a meeting! Where did it go?!?!? At the end of that October meeting, I saw it. The principal showed me the time-out room they used for my son -- they called it "the calm room." It was all cinder-block...no windows. It was the size of a storage closet...and that's what it looked like to me. They attempted to dress it up by putting in mats, cuddly looking blankets and stuffed animals and a therapy ball. There was a "protocol sheet" hanging on the wall -- specific to my son. Someone usually stood in front of it when I tried to read it, and it also mysteriously "vanished." But, from what I could deduce, they were allowing my son to go into complete meltdown mode before removing him from the regular ed. classroom. They were to do this by saying, "It's time to go to the calm room now." He wasn't given a choice! If you're put in a closet -- not by choice -- how is that NOT punishment? They kept asserting it was NOT used in a punitive manner. I was stunned...I couldn't even speak. When all of this had been done to him, he had no FBA. They wanted their "behavior specialist," whom they refused to provide proof of what her role was in all of this, to do the FBA. I protested and said I would not allow it unless a neutral third party did it. They protested. I said that if putting my son in a time-out room and threatening to take away his comfort objects was the best plan that "specialist" could come up with, clearly we needed a second opinion. Reluctantly, they agreed. But, the FBA couldn't be done for another 12 days. So, if I objected to the use of the room, the more qualified specialist they were bringing in to do the FBA would never see it. I was in hell sending him back there during those 12 days. The consultant who did the FBA completely understood and even admitted that my son likely perceived the calm room as punishment. She also felt it was such, as he was not being given a choice to go there. I implored her to have them stop this, as I felt it was to my son's emotional/mental detriment. I said this because he was having constant nightmares, trouble eating and sleeping, excessive clinging to me and my husband, needing constant reassurance that we loved him and would keep him safe, strange overreactions to seemingly normal things like towels and blankets, and other symptoms we brought to the attention of his child psych. His doc changed some of his med dosages to see if that would help. It didn't. As a result of the FBA, he was taken out of the general ed classroom and put into the resource room almost full-time. But, the principal made sure she told me what an inconvenience that was, and how she could not continue to give up her Intervention Specialist to my son. We put in writing that we did not want the time-out room used with him anymore EVER -- they did NOT have our permission, nor would they EVER get it. We felt the FBA was incomplete in the sense that it only gave "suggestions" on what to do -- there was no solid BIP. And, it didn't describe what "interventions" were already tried without success. We felt that was important to have on record. The FBA consultant wouldn't do it. She suggested that we write a statement to be attached to the FBA if there was anything we wanted to clarify. The school refused to add that statement to the FBA. That meeting desintegrated into the principal verbally attacking me -- and then crying, because in her "30 years of being in education, she has never had a parent try to dictate her job to her." She did "all the right things and consulted all the experts" -- she didn't know what else we wanted from her. I told her, after taking a breath and counting to 10 that there was one set of experts she neglected to "consult"...the child's PARENTS. She had no response. It was during this meeting that she let it slip that my son was restrained in a "hot dog roll." I had to ask what that was...I could imagine, but I wanted to hear it. They rolled him up in blankets, like a hot dog...thus, the name. I couldn't imagine my son liking that AT ALL because he never liked to even be swaddled as a baby. I said this and they claimed they did it in fun and he liked it. I don't think so...that's when we started noticing the odd reactions to blankets and towels. But, since it wasn't in writing, only said verbally -- the school would deny or ignore it when I brought it up. I sent a letter detailing the meeting and the points on which we could not come to an agreement. Two months later, I got a response. Basically, it said that although our objection to the "calm room" was noted, because they did not feel it was being used in a punitive manner, they would continue to use it whenever they felt it necessary despite our witten insistence not to do that. IMMEDIATELY, I fired off a no-consent letter that I found on TASH's website. I cc'd the Sped Director and the Superintendent, and every one of my son's teachers and therapists. That got their attention, and the principal was forced to "retract" her insistence on using the room. I finally found an advocate to help me fight for my son's rights. They really don't like her at the school, because she's good! We got a letter from my son's psychiatrist stating that the aversive interventions he suffered had caused him to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and an alternate placement was strongly recommended. They were outraged and tried to ignore the letter. The advocate and I wouldn't let them. My son had to be put on some major meds to help ease his PTSD symptoms because talk therapy was not useful because he couldn't describe what happened due to his communication deficits. The school tried to wear us down by "meeting" us to death. Meanwhile, I contacted my US Representative. I will say, his office did try to help me, but stunningly, there wasn't much they could do except put pressure on the state Dept. of Ed. to fix this. There is NOTHING in Ohio Revised Code that specifically addresses the use of aversives in school settings. In hospitals, jails, group homes -- yes. But not schools. I had no recourse. An attorney from another state who was helping another family told me that what was done to my son was prohibited in the section of the Code on child abuse, but I really didn't have proof. The school was denying they had restrained him, and only had "data" on the use of the calm room for about a week and a half long period -- from the time I objected until the time of the FBA. But, during this time, he was in there for upwards of 70 minutes in just a week's time. Please tell me what IEP objectives he could have been meeting restrained in blankets in a time-out closet?!?!!? Judging from his first quarter grades -- nothing. So we kept fighting, kept meeting, and they kept avoiding the questions we asked. They kept refusing to give us the data we requested, even though we had a right to it. So, our advocate wrote a strong letter, asking once again for all the data they wouldn't give us, and gave them a deadline. They responded by sending us a letter requesting a meeting to which they would be bringing legal counsel. We couldn't afford legal counsel. We had the US Rep's office -- although no one offered to come to the meetings on our behalf -- and our advocate got some help from the ODE. But, the ODE really didn't have the authority to enforce or demand anything. We had 2 facilitated IEP meetings. We were not allowed to address our concerns about the calm room, because they said that happened in his past and was not on his current IEP (it NEVER was on his IEP, but they did it anyway!). They kept denying the restraint because it was not documented in writing or on film. Their lawyer even verbally abused and physically manhandled our advocate before the last meeting! We had two choices...get a lawyer and take this to a long, protracted court battle during which our son would have to "stay put" at this hellhole because of IDEA 2004's provision on that; or we could use the State of Ohio's Autism Scholarship Program. That involves applying for the scholarship money ($20,000 that the ODE allocates to districts for each child they have identified as having a primary disability of Autism), picking providers that are approved from a very slim list, and usually having to pitch in extra money (generally a couple thousand dollars) of your own. This is the option we chose. We could have spent money we don't have on litigation, and maybe have won (due to a solid binder of documentation) that would have dragged out for years, or we could spend the money on getting that appropriate education for our child. No, it's certainly not free, however. It's nice to have rights under IDEA, but only the very wealthy can afford to enforce those rights in the court sytem.Our son is finally recovering from his PTSD, but he is not there yet. The psych cannot predict if he will ever be plagued by "Flashbacks" from what he suffered at any point in the future. And, his self-esteem took a serious blow. He is a very good, very sweet, 7-year-old boy. I hope we can get him back to where he was before this. I really wish the public could know what they are paying for with our school district. I doubt they know that they are paying for what amounts to institutionalized abuse. But, I fear retaliation. We still have to deal with them for our sons' (we have two on the Spectrum) IEPs and MFEs. I also hope and pray that Congress will be made aware of this when No Child Left Behind is reauthorized. I've made my US Rep aware of it, but I think they all need to know what's going on. Thank you for telling our stories. Thank you for standing up for these children. Someone has to. The system is so broken and corrupted. Thanks for reading this and doing what you're doing.
Sincerely,
Lily
Ohio

2007 & 2006
My 7 daughter has Autism and has been restrained many times in public school for the past year. All this did was make her more aggressive but they would not listen to me. We finely had to take her out of school to keep her safe from these people that were suppose to be helping her. I turned to so many organizations to help me I've lost track of the count. Not one of them helped us and we don't know where to turn for help.
Kellie
Lee County, Florida

2006
I am the mother of an eight year old daughter with autism and epilepsy who was physically restrained by two women in a secluded room that was being used for a "time out room." My daughter was fortunate that at least that room had windows; however, even though I was in the building meeting with school district staff for an IEP meeting when the restraint occurred, I still do not know why my child was held so tightly by her upper arms that she had fingerprint imprints on them, nor why she was forced into a chair which was pushed so far into a desk that she literally couldn't do anything but cry for "mommy," nor can I indentify the second woman who was involved (one was her "regular" classroom aide) because our district refuses to provide an incident report on this matter, including ignoring a FERPA request. I only know what happened because my mother-in-law was with me for the meeting that day and saw what happened to her. I have no idea how many times this may have happened to my child, only that she told a school social worker that "all they do is drag me by my arms all day. They drag me by my arms to the cafeteria, they drag me by my arms down the halls, they drag me by my arms to the principal's office, and then they call Mommy and Daddy to take me home." My daughter's neurologist believes it is not safe to return her to this district, as they will not agree to accept the free training my state offers, nor agree to change practices which are dangerous for my daughter, given her history of life-threatening seizures. Fortunately, in PA there are regulations regarding restraints and seclusion use. Unfortunately, most of the time those regulations are not enforced.Seclusions and restraints are occurring more frequently and are occurring all over this country, not just in Florida. I sincerely applaud and thank you for exposing just one such district for using these barbaric practices on "our" kids. It is media attention such as yours that will hopefully bring about an end to child abuse in public schools.
Jen
Pennsylvania

2005 & 2006
My son was restrained 65 times that I know of in a 12 month period. We pulled him out of school because we thought he was having a breakdown. A year later is when we found out about all the restraints. The school never told us. When I filed a complaint with the FLDOE they found no fault with the school district for anything they did. The school even went as far as lying to the DOE by telling them that "School staff had demonstrated PCM restraints on the parent providing her with full knowledge of the intervention." I couldn't believe I was reading this. Filing a complaint with the DOE is a broken process and a big waste of time for parents.
Phyllis
Palm Beach County, Florida

2007
My son has suffered 4 restrainings in a month & a half period. The last one was so severe they caused a cervical strain, busted lip, bleeding under the skin on his arms torso, face, neck/shoulder area and almost suffocated him.The force was so excessive that they imprinted his polo shirt into his body. I have filed 3 police reports and made 3 reports to DCF. My son was 7 and weighed 52lbs when the restrainings started. If my son wasn't visibly injured I may never have known the school had no intention on contacting me on a few of the restrainings. The county I live in is working off of a 12 year old behavior policy that involves barbaric adversives on disabled children. I did a public records search on the Behavior analyst that injured my son on 4/07 and it turns out he has at least 3 DUI charges in his background one as recent as 7/07. How ironic a Behavior Analyst who can't control his own behavior??????????? There are no regulations on these matters and it is hard to hold anyone accountable. It almost seems as though no one cares.
Anna
Port St Lucie, Florida

2006
I saw that you requested families who have difficulties with restraint and safety issues regarding their child in ESE.I have a 13 year old son with Down syndrome who is staffed into a TMH class with one teacher and one assistant.The program was totally inappropriate for him (or for TMH students in general) and he became a behavior problem in the fall. In addition, there were safety issues for him (elopement) and for the students and teachers (he threw classroom items).Now the school wants me to sign a release to allow CPI (Crisis Prevention Intervention), which, I understand is in essence physical restraint. I have many concerns about this, and how it will be used.
I am in Brevard County, Florida.

2006
Ian is in 2nd grade. We are in Lee County. He is in a school for SED students. Per his IEP he is to have a safe place to go to calm down. They use a normal timeout room for this even though his therapist said this was not appropriate. If Ian becomes aggressive because of failure to intervene he is placed in a quiet room. It is the size of a closet with only a window for light. Ian is scared to death of the dark and being alone. At previous schools the staff was not trained in restraint and they restrained him causing bruises.
Lee County, Florida

2006
We are very much AGAINST the physical restraint and seclusion practices used with our son Mark and any other disabled child. We recently got a back dated FBA with goals and information that we disapproved. Mark's IEP was changed so that the behavior specialists could continue to physically restrain him and remove him from class based on the "safety of other students and his teachers and staff." We told them that Mark was being improperly handled and that they "had created their own monster" by not understanding the manifestations of Autism and a child who has Sensory Integration Dysfunction, a Sensory Auditory Disorder, and organic brain damage. This also fell on deaf ears.
Pasco County Florida

2007
My son came home from school, laid on the floor, crossed his arms and asked me to grab his ankles on the floor. He told me - "tell them to stop doing this to me at school". Thank goodness Benjamin can descriptively talk enough to say when his school work is too hard, he wants to "breath outside". When he tries to leave the room, the teachers lock the door and "yell" at him and Ben tries to push his way out. That escalates into more fear and Ben shoves or strikes at them. Ben is then dragged to the ground and put into a "physical restraint" position - for at least 2 days in a row now. He says that the visiting Area ESE Specialist, from his old school told the teachers (in front of him) to restrain him. Ben also tells me he has trouble breathing (which I told Mary Ann just this week, he has recently been complaining of) in overstressed school situations, and in these situations. Unfortunately, I have had to research in a short time "physical restraints" - and nothing about what HCSD is doing is right. Ben has had escalated autism related issues all year, and no one should be surprised that he needs intensive, specialized direct behavioral supports - not physical restraints as a therapeutic intervention. Not only have I never given the school permission for physical restraint and was not notified (thank God Ben can talk - or I may have never been told at all), but the issue nationwide has caused fatalities. This is yet another attempt for the school to avoid appropriate Behavioral Therapy services at any costs. This is a OCR violation - and should stop immediately.
Suzette
Mom to 10 year old student with High Functioning Autism

Commentaries and Opinions

Below are our commentaries and opinions about restraint and seclusion misuse and abuse:

In Defense of Waukee Elementary School???

A number of individuals have bee