An in-depth look at Restraint and Seclusion practices in Tennessee (Part 3)

Continued from Part 2

Abuses of Restraint and Seclusion

The documented cases of abuses of these practices are far too many to list here. The Government Accountability Office’s testimony on Seclusion and Restraints, “Seclusions and Restraints, Selected Cases of Death and Abuse at Public and Private Schools and Treatment Centers” provides a detailed report of some of the worse known cases of abuse as does two extensive reports done by the National Disability Rights Network “School is Not Supposed to Hurt: Investigative Report on Abusive Restraint and Seclusion in Schools” and “School is Not Supposed to Hurt: Update on Progress in 2009 to Prevent and Reduce Restraint and Seclusion in Schools.”

Here are a small sample of recent documented abuses in our nation’s schools:

A child with a disability was dragged by the feet to a “time out” room by a school aide after an altercation. The aide threatened to kill the student. The child’s parents, upon picking up the student from school, observed facial bruises, fingernail marks, and welts on the child’s face, arms, back, and hands. The parents filed a police report, which was ignored.

A second grade student with a disability was disciplined by the school psychologist and a behavioral consultant by being repeatedly secluded in an elevator closet for up to fifty minutes at a time. This practice was not approved in an Individualized Education Program (IEP), and parents were not aware until their child, with limited processing and language skills, figured out a way to communicate it to them.

A preschool child with a disability was considered to be non-compliant for not putting a book away during “free play.” The situation escalated when repeated verbal commands to put the book away agitated the child. The student’s aide, teacher, and a therapist dragged the child to the principal’s office and restrained the child for twenty minutes. Upon inquiry, the child’s parents learned restraint of up to six hours four times in a week was common as a discipline measure for this preschool student.

A six year old student with asthma and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder was placed in a prone restraint by two adults for attempting to run away from adult supervision. Despite the six year old’s complaints of being unable to breathe, the restraint continued. The student was injured and received rug burns on his forehead and arms. The school refused to change their restraint practice for this child despite acknowledging his medical condition made prone restraint dangerous to his health.

Excerpt from “School is Not Supposed to Hurt: Update on Progress in 2009 to Prevent and Reduce Restraint and Seclusion in Schools” http://www.napas.org/sr/srjan10/Schoo-%20is-Not-Supposed-to-Hurt-(NDRN).pdf

9 yr old stripped to his underwear in Joseph Brown Elementary School in Columbia, TN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziDzN6Nvdt4&feature=player_embedded

http://www.theautismnews.com/2009/09/24/schools-defend-isolation-rooms/

Five year old TN girl locked in an isolation room while at school without mother's knowledge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K83zhYm_SeM

Repercussions of abuse in schools

In many cases, charges are never filed against the school official(s). Often, the teachers continue to teach, even after a student has died from their care.

Occasionally a lawsuit is filed against the schools on the behalf of the child, while other parents do nothing out of concern for their child’s well-being, seeing that the subject makes their child withdraw and regress.

What a parent can do to safeguard their children from these abuses

Check the voting records of potential representatives in your state.

Contact your US Senator and ask them to support S. 3895.

Visit your school and ask to see their isolation room.

If they don’t have an isolation room, ask what their policies are on Seclusion.

Ask what their policies are on restraint.

Check your IEP. Ask if there is vague or confusing wording, or for specific procedures regarding “time-outs”.

Get involved with activist groups such as the Tennessee Disability Coalition (http://www.tndisability.org)

References: 

[1] GAO (United States Government Accountability Office) Seclusions and Restraints, 

Selected Cases of Death and Abuse at Public and Private Schools and Treatment Centers

- http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/palmbeachpost/pdf/gaoreport.pdf

[2] School is Not Supposed to Hurt: Investigative Report on Abusive Restraint and Seclusion in Schools http://www.napas.org/sr/SR-Report.pdf

[3] Deaths and suicides

http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/palmbeachpost/pdf/gaoreport.pdf

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-12-17/us/seclusion.rooms_1_seclusion-autistic-children-special-education?_s=PM:US

[4] Readdick, C. A., & Chapman, P. L. (2001).  Young children’s perceptions of time out.  Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 15, 81-87.

[5] TIME-OUT INTERVENTIONS AND STRATEGIES: A BRIEF REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS Tera L. Wolf, T. F. McLaughlin and Randy Lee Williams - www.internationalsped.com/documents/3wolf%20etc.doc

[6] Ineffective Therapy Tool

http://www.njisj.org/document/testimonyyouthdetention-9-16-05.pdf

TIME-OUT INTERVENTIONS AND STRATEGIES: A BRIEF REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS Tera L. Wolf, T. F. McLaughlin and Randy Lee Williams - www.internationalsped.com/documents/3wolf%20etc.doc

[7] In the Name of Treatment – A.P.R.A.I.S. http://www.tash.org/publications/parentguide/inthenameoftreatment.pdf

[8] Discrimination

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/12/fruitport_couple_in_washington.html

http://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=153

http://blog.autisminreallife.com/2009/07/10/seclusion-rooms-and-discrimination-against-children-with-autism.aspx

[9] S. 3895: A bill to protect students from inappropriate seclusion and physical restraint, and for other purposes - http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-3895

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