I guess it’s the "trickle down" theory of torture.
The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, Massachusetts looks like nothing so much as Gitmo for trouble kids — they subject severely autistic, mentally retarded, schizophrenic, bipolar and emotionally disturbed kids to a "reward and punishment" system that includes painful electrical shock. They are paid $220,000 a year per resident by various states and have annual revenues exceeding $56 million.
Watch the video above, and see how the kids are under constant video surveillance. Half of the residents carry around battery packs and are wired so that if they are observed doing anything against the rules, they are immediately shocked.
I can’t imagine anything more degrading and paranoia-inducing to kids who are already troubled, and indeed the treatment methods of the center’s founder, Dr. Matthew Israel, have been widely debunked.
In recent incident, a resident was awakened and shocked 77 times:
The school and its founder Dr. Israel, of course, claim that this was "an isolated, unprecedented" incident. Just as it claimed back in 1981 when it was reported that "Israel had pinched the feet of Christopher Hirsch, an autistic 12-year-old, at least 24 times in 30 minutes, while the boy screamed and cried. This was a punishment for soiling his pants." Or when another student, 14-year-old Danny Aswad, died while strapped facedown to his bed. " Or when "Vincent Milletich, an autistic 22-year-old, suffered a seizure and died after he was put in restraints and forced to wear a white-noise helmet." Or when 19-year-old Linda Cornelison, who had the mental capacity of a toddler, refused to eat and was punished by staffers: "Between 3:52 p.m. and 8 p.m., staffers punished her with 13 spatula spankings, 29 finger pinches, 14 muscle squeezes, and 5 forced inhalings of ammonia. It turned out that Linda had a perforated stomach. She died on the operating table at 1:45 a.m." .
While the staff claim that the shocks feel no worse than "a bee sting," Mother Jones’ reporter Jennifer Gonnerman subjected herself to the shock and said "it felt like a horde of wasps attacking me all at once. Two seconds never felt so long."
Six kids have died at the Rotenberg school.
Eliot Spitzer is trying to get New York kids out of there, but a judge’s order has temporarily kept the State of New York from doing so. This "normalization" of torture, whether against prisoners at Abu Ghraib or disturbed children, is a moral outrage — and I really don’t want to think that this is who we’ve become.
(thanks to scarce for the video)
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Jane!
Told them downstairs; now it’s time to read.
Dr. Mengele.
Another crime, this time against humanity itself, for Hugh’s expanding list.
OMG! How can a judge order kids to stay?
I feel quite nauseated. These kids are so vulnerable.
These kids need to be rescued. This is unconscionable.
Now this is a moral outrage. Where are the angry Wingers (brownshirts) whom attempt to impose Christianity on the world at every turn? I guess some are employed by this place. Has O’Reilly chimed in on this? No, he’s fighting a make-believe War on Christmas.
Because there is so much confusion about autism and confusion about torture
it is not surprising to me that we encourage the torture of autistic children.
Didn’t they have a Law and Order show about a place like this and at least in Dick Wolf’s world it got shut down.
“This “normalization” of torture, whether against prisoners at Abu Ghraib or disturbed children, is a moral outrage — and I really don’t want to think that this is who we’ve become.”
Brilliant linkage………….
This is worse than The Magdalene Sisters. Hey Teacher! Leave them kids alone!
Jane,
This is the same place that just fired 7 staffers for falling for a “prank.
Do they accept Republicans?
Can’t read the whole thing; it’s too awful to think about right now. But it would seem to be of a piece with the neocon lust for authoritarianism. I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that when you put together all the bits and pieces of the Shrubbie jigsaw puzzle, the picture that emerges is very dark, bleak, and unAmerican.
1,702 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen Hamsher and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
This is some scary shit…even for a cynical long time Democrat. The corporate oligarchy has us plungin’ headlong back ta the 14th century. Jesus!! “Here we go ’round the mulberry bush…and no one gives a dam.”
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION WE CAN’T STOP FIGHTIN’ NOW YHRY’RE KILLIN’ THE CHILDREN!!
Only a Republican or a fascist could shock a kid.
This is the kind of thing that will be standard for everyone in the NWO that papa Bush loves to talk about. Get your wakeup call at http://www.secretwarsinter.com
This is just so disturbing and reminds me of the Milgram study. This school is an analogy of our society under a microscope. From wiki:
Kind of flies in the face of all this religion talk in presidential campaigns, doesn’t it?
We’ve been down this road before…
The Milgram Experiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment
Authoritarian followers do not question orders from their superiors.
Your’s is not to question why…yada, yada, yada!
Makes you wonder who the victims of this abuse grow up to be.
.
forgive me grammarians
Put this out there, Jane!
This has gone on far too long not just with children but also with women. If you can’t get them to conform, torture them (reward and punishment) until they do.
This is really upsetting to me personally. As a child and throughout my teen years I watched young women in my family and mothers of my friends taken off for shock treatment and worse because they didn’t want to keep having children and be dutiful housewives. Mercy and blessings on my dear cousin, Yolande, who was admitted countless times for shock treatment until she saved herself by overdosing on sleeping pills and two bottles of wine. She never awoke again.
I still hear the cries of Iris’ Mom begging not to be taken in again and that she would be good, just no more shock treatments. Her husbands telling her this would make her better. The doctor said so. At age 33 she shut up altogether and had three more children and never expressed her feelings again. She was pronounced cured.
I am so angry reading this. Unless we keep vigil this cruelty under the guise of “curing” or reward and punishment that “cures” will continue and continue. I’ll stop here before I say something about male aggression and love of violence that will be more upsetting than the thread.
Great minds and…er…ah…I forget the rest.
It’s incredible the kind of quackery people get paid for. I understand the lawsuit that prevented the kids from being pulled out was filed by the parents — I can understand they’re desperate but really. I can’t believe this has been allowed to go on for so long.
Not everybody could do it. Think of it that way.
From Wiki:
“More severe offenses are punished by strapping the child to the board and shocking them repeatedly”
What do we call this, shockboarding….?
It seems to be all of a peice for some people:
From The Road
December 21, 2007, 11:36 AM
Huckabee: Gitmo Is “Too Nice”
Posted by Steve Chaggaris
From CBS News’ Joy Lin and Mary Hood:
[snipped]
If Gitmo is so much ‘nicer’ than the prisons in Arkansas, maybe the prisoners in Arkansas should be suing for crimes against humanity. (I think someone should also explain to Huckleberry why there’s so much difference in meal prices, but I don’t think he’d understand it.)
A friend of mine has a brother (43yr old body/3yr old brain) in a wonderful facility. They have gotten some fabulous results with music therapy. And the best thing….nobody gets tortured.
it is who we’ve become, it will remain who we’ve become unless and until we bring the purveyors to the bar of justice and they are punished before the world
Its a radical experiment. These kids have been through the mill already. They’re throw-aways. Dr. Mengele and his minions are trying this radical shit on them as a last ditch effort and the gubmint (you and me) is paying these bastards big bucks to do it.
digg Jane’s story — it’s that important
.
.
.
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THANK GOD!
C’mon, every pup Digg this post hard.
Lurkers too. We’re talking about kids here.
I would quess some people employed at this place have children. How can there be that much disconnect?
This is what comes from obeying authority. The doctors know best. Specialist have the answer. I don’t think so! Hang out a shingle and get a two bit degree and head for those with the least power. What a formula for success.
In the best of medical institutions parents have to stay in control. In senior care centers the children have to stay in control.
This is a reflection of our society, relinquishing responsibilities to someone else.
Parents, take back control of your children.
It is not just who we’ve become, it is who we’ve been all along. We are not a genteel society nor have we ever been.
I can’t believe this place is still operating – there has been publicity about it for quite some time – no one can plead ignorance of what has been going on there.
*S*
Just goes to show what can happen when you put a little love in your heart.
I’m waiting to discover that this place is owned by the Carlyle Group and operated by a subsidiary of Halliburton.
I have a learning disabled brother, and reading about this makes me want to drive into that place with an armored troop carrier and drive all the kids to someplace safe…
It’s my view that a lot more attention needs to be paid to conditions in American prisons.
most can. none of us want to think it would be us… but in reality, under some circumstances it probably is.
there is one thing we can to though, and that’s to prepare ourselves to be in that situation… and to know how powerful the role model of the resister can be to others.
this place is in my state. i should be outside picketing it.
Are you assuming that they treat their own children well?
Just us chickens. We’re nice to each other here, right? We believe in liberal principles. Live and let live. Acceptance. Cultural diversity. Melding of cultures. The melting pot. Human rights. Womens rights. Reproductive Rights. Gay rights. Freedom from religion. Enlightenment. The Constitution. The Bill Of Rights. Peaceful coexistence. Your brother’s keeper. The good of the many.
Think about the totality of cruelty. Torture dogs for entertainment, skin animals alive, shock treatment for (mostly women) in distress, punishment/reward treatment for children, torturing of prisoners, domestic violence, war.
If a person is capable of one they are capable of any act of cruelty. There is always a justification, a rational explanation. The bottom line is they just love being cruel.
isn’t it loverly?
With heightened sensory sensitivity, autistic people may feel the electrical shocks more strongly than the average person. Shocked and shocking!
We have a very autistic 13 year old little girl and a retarded elementary school boy in our immediate family. These are precious kiddos to all of us. We in this huge family protect them as if they were solid gold. Simply put; we adore them.
Jane, thank you for this – even though it is a look at hell.
Pups with deep search skills / database access / knowledge of NYC non-profit and healthcare law:
NOW is the time to ID all the trainees/licensed profs ever employed at the J.R. “Educational” Center (via posted resumes and – if the place is non-profit – any payroll/staff/expense records which may legally be demanded).
The entire roster of the Center’s trainees and past/current staff (professionals and “aides” – or whatever they’re called) is the first tool to protect the rest of us from these criminal “clinicans” and their co-conspirators in torture.
The staff record will allow:
(1) “Outing” every Center grad/staffer who never spoke up – they are complicit (ethically – and I hope criminally).
(2) Licensure Boards sanctions (after due public bludegoning of the Boards)
(3) Patients/families to avoid the torturers and all their silent students – for ever.
(4) Employers to refuse hire to former staff – everyone and anyone in contact with patients, as well as all administrators and their aa’s (past/present).
I hope every clinician and staff who ever worked there and saw or heard of the torture never works again – except for picking up trash and fighting fires.
In orange prison jumpsuits.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..77878.html
Link to Joe Wilson’s endorsement of Hillary.
Kirk,
This place is actually located in Massachusetts (see my #11)
oops – should have been “MA non-profit and healthcare law”
[New York state, Massachusetts state -
sorry for the confusion.
All the snowy places look alike to this California boy]
ducks
I am not buying it
this is NOT who we have always been, it’s what we are capable of when we allow the depravity but it is not who we were before these maggots took office and shed their depravity on the rest of us
ya, there are, always were, always will be people like this, but it not who we are as a people
Thanks Dakine01 -
I’m sorry to admit I saw the same news item this week and never imagined this – I imagined shlock joke items like “joy buzzers” as crappy holiday gifts.
Electric torture for autistic kids was beyond my imagination. Heck, why not just lop off fingers and toes for “negative reinforcement”?
I gotta stop now.
Man, I remember reading about this guy 20 years ago when those incidents happened! I cannot believe he is still getting paid by the state to torture these kids.
It’s true, Jane. This shit flows from the top down.
One year and 19 days until this nightmare is over. Maybe.
Do they accept Republicans?
Dunno, but they’d probably need a dedicated electrical plant to provide enough power if that were the case…
Hi Kirk Murphy. How’s tricks?
hope you-all don’t mind. i’m not gonna watch right now… don’t think i’m up to it.
it’s bad enough when we torture adults – but kids?
I have worked for many years as a caregiver with people with varying degrees of mental and physical disabilities, and almost without exception every individual who was institutionalized was either sexually or physically abused or both. I have met many caring gentle, humane individuals in the field, but often their work is undone by those who are attracted to the field because it satisfies there sick need for power over vulnerable others.
Ask youself. How many children who find huge hurdles to confront every single day, will have a Merry Christmas?
Shall we return to the good old days of lobotomies?
Unstinting unconditional love is the answer.
Clearly. This is child abuse.
don’t even go there!
What is it with our culture that we feel the need to hide the different among us, to shut them up in our attics? We don’t even cherish our eccentrics! The world would be a much sorrier place without them.
I remember when Bobby Kennedy visited a New York mental institution. He was so horrified and repelled by what he saw that he literally threw up when he left the place. He said that his sister would have prtection in their family but the fate of these poor souls had no such protection.
How long has this gone on – my entire life. And we are always surprised. If you want another reality shock, visit senior care centers. My sister and I searched and searched to find one acceptable for my Mom when she was in need of round-the-clock attention in the last stage of Alzheimer’s. We found ONE. And thanks to my sister, she visited every day with surprise visits, made friends with the staff, took my Mom on outtings, had dinner or breakfast with her. The children of many others did not bother with their elderly parents. Maybe once every two weeks a son or daughter would pay a visit for ten minutes then burn rubber getting out of the parking lot.
We are not such a kind society as we like to believe.
The hearbreak of having a mentally challenged child is just this side of unbearable.
Hi Mommybrain -
Felines and I are well and looking forward to the holidays.
I hope you’re well – and that you and all pups have a joyous holiday season.
Off to do chores…..
It isn’t just the fundies going all 12th century on us. What IS it about the millenium that makes so many go bat-shit crazy?
Amen to that!
OK, I’m going to be crucified for this (and maybe even banned) but here goes: First let me say that I don’t work with autistic children or know much of anything about this center. But here’s a hypothetical. Let’s say you have a child who engages in severe self-injurious behavior (broken bones, open wounds, concussions, etc.) Let’s also acknowledge that there is a large peer-reviewed literature in psychology that demonstrates that most self-injurious behavior is maintained by the attention it gets from the child’s care givers (trust me, there is — look it up). In other words, the self injury is made worse by those who are trying the hardest to help. Well, you might think that if the attention paid to this behavior is why it’s continuing, then maybe we’ll just stop paying attention to it and it will go away. Right? Wrong. Actually, the behavior will get worse and possibly result in permanent damage (it’s sometimes called the frustration-aggression hypothesis. We get more aggressive when frustrated — when the attention is no longer forthcoming following the self injury, the worse the injury.) That’s a real problem with children with special needs.
There’s a principle that’s grown out of frustration about “traditional” treatments (that don’t work and are exactly the ones many of you think are the right approach) known as the “Doctrine of Effective Treatment”. The basic message is that patients have a right to effective treatment. Let me ask you all a question: Should the child who bangs his head be allowed to do so while undergoing ineffective therapy or should a method that is effective in reducing that behavior dramatically but looks, on the surface like torture, be implemented? It turns out that by far most parents/care givers are relieved when the behavior stops and, as a result, things in general get much better for the child and the family.
I am stunned that this could even continue with this level of awareness. It bothers me too that this is referred to as shock treatment or therapy because although it literally is administering shocks, there is legitimate and often medically effective ’shock treatment’ which is nothing to do with punishment. Lazy use of terms and journalism which fails to distinguish and differentiate between ‘good’ or approved and this blatantly cruel practice.
A question though for anyone who can answer… when does something become beyond state power? I mean, if Massachusetts allows this to happen does that mean it just can’t be stopped.. or can it come on a national level? Sorry if the question isn’t clear; I’m not American and don’t totally understand (obviously!) how it works.
Thanks for posting this Jane
That doesn’t seem to be what’s going on here.
You don’t spend hours hitting and pinching people unless you enjoy hurting them.
Someone with toddler-level intelligence isn’t likely to be hurting themselves – or refusing food. They don’t have that ability yet.
This is abuse.
do you know how many children have died at this place?
no way that’s “effective treatment”
smiley, not that I’m an expert on this at all but there are effective methods of treating all sorts of illnesses, problems, disorders or whatever you want to name them. The treatment/care/support of people with autism is usually (I believe) very seperate from the treatment of things like depression, schizophrenia, people who self harm etc. I really can’t accept that the ‘treatment’ in this case is the only solution, and though it may be an effective method in the eyes of a family that then leads to question how much support is being provided for the family. I can imagine that in some cases the lack of support could lead a family to this kind of drastic measure but given the right support an effective and far less dangerous and abusive method of treatment could be found.
I wonder if someone in our
vapid heroic MSM could stop munching on their donuts for a moment and ask WillardThe ShitMitt Romney whether this is a prime example of his stewardship while governating Massachusetts and should we expect more of this should he somehowsteal the 08 electionmake it to the WH?Maybe he could use this vid as a campaign commercial on his
lack oftalents for leadership?thanks to PJEvans and katastrophy, who gave much more thoughtful and compassionate responses than i could.
Too often treatment regimens are mandated by those who treat the problem intellectually not empathically.
Phoenix Woman has a new thread ready for us upstairs!
Yeah, I read the original report over the summer in Mother Jones. This is a horrifying scam the guy has going. No one should be subject to repeated electric shocks. This type of aversion therapy borders on the General Oblation board of Golden Compass.
But then again this is the culture that has a Death Penalty, 180,000 people in prison in California alone, and treats the elderly, and animals (and veterans) as if they were disposable and ‘problems’.
While my heart goes out to the parents, they do need to investigate other less dehumanizing interventions rather than push their kids into this Black Hole of Canton.
Dear Smiley at #69,
You are so full of shit that I don’t know where to begin. I am the father of a teenage son with autism. Fortunately, he is not self-injurious. Applying electro-shock treatment is still what is normally called “torture.” These people have no right to treat these children with autism as cattle to be prodded. There are many other more effective ways to reach these kids (the “Lovaas” method of the 70’s has been discredited for more than 30 years).
Simply put, there is absolutely no proof that “electro-torture” works.
Or are you in favor of a Guantanamo for kids with autism?
The Milgram Experiment showed almost NO ONE questions orders from authority figures…especially when the latter accepts responsibility. It’s not just “authoritarian followers”.
That was what was thought PRIOR TO the Milgram Experiment…that one could sort out certain pesonality types from positions of responsibility, or that there some psychological type would be more likely to abuse others. The power of the Milgram Experiment is that almost 98% of the population will not resist authority, and that it often takes an equally authoritarian source to resist.
Sadly no follow up on the psychological backgrounds of the small number of resistors, or those that resisted EARLIER than others was found. There was a little bit of this done by Phil Zimbardo at Stanford University (and creator of the famous Stanford Prison Experiment). But because of experimental subjects laws we are unlikely to find out what we can do to avert future cases other than to prevent the manipulation of people by fostering things like “immunity” and “amnesty”. Zimbardo has a book out called “The Lucifer Effect” in which he discusses all of this research, and places it in a historical context with Abu Ghraib, waterboarding, and other acts of abuse.
It depends on what you mean by discredited. If you mean that the effectiveness of behavioral (not the same as aversive) methods have been confirmed over and over and over again, then I agree.
I’ve never seen the term “electro-torture” in the literature but I’m sure you’re right. However, there are many example of the effective use of punishment procedures, such as time out, in the literature.
Where the hell did that come from? What in my previous post suggested that I’m in favor of such a thing? What I’m in favor of is effective treatment that improves the lives of children with all sorts of developmental disabilities.