For all the concern and criticism about the use of restraints in public schools on disabled students, sometimes it seems there’s no end to hearing about yet another school district that has improperly restrained a child. Yesterday’s McDowell News reports that a 14-year-old autistic student was restrained using a “belt-like device”—-a belt used to help students using wheelchairs in and our of their chairs. Jeremiah’s mother, Ann Watson, said that the school did not inform her about restraining her son and in this way.
She further said the system has purged documents that reflect poorly on the school system’s handling of …read more

It’s been reported that the use of restraints has increased in public schools. The October 24th New Britain Herald describes symptoms of something like post-tramatic stress in two autistic students who were allegedly abused by a special education teacher:
Arelis Kinard, a parent of the one of the students involved, said her 7-year-old son is nonverbal but has been having behavioral problems that may be attributed to abuse. “I’m angry, I’m angry at the school, I’m angry at the system,” she said during an often tearful press conference on the steps of New Britain Superior Court.
Parent Alberta Marin said her son …read more

Two families are suing the Waukee (Iowa) school district for the way that timeout rooms were used to “discipline” their children. Today’s Des Moines Register notes that one child was locked in timeout 64 times during his first-grade year at Waukee Elementary School in 2006; his grandparents were informed about only 17 of those instances. Isabel Loeffner was locked in a timeout room for 3 1/2 hours; while Isabel and her parents, Doug and Eva Loeffler, have moved to California, the family has continued their legal fight “for the sake of [their] daughter’s alleged suffering.” Go here to read …read more

Yes, I do think that the hypothetical “vaccine-autism” link distracts us from the key issues of education, services, and understanding about autism. Nonetheless, vaccines were the topic of some of last week’s top posts:

Musings on Camp and Independence
Should I be sending Charlie to camp?
The Dangers of DIY Doctoring
Doctors and patients at odds, and the latter more armed with (mis)information than ever.
Nintendo At School
Charlie is learning how to play video games, at school.
Michael Savage’s Parting Shot
Ah, Michael, just give it up!
Public Spaces Mean Extra Precautions
What if I lose my child in a busy public place?
Not Able …read more

Something that has been particularly bothering me about 2-year-old Jarret Farrell and his mother being removed from an American Eagle airplane earlier this week is (according to news reports) a flight attendant repeatedly tugging on the toddler’s seatbelt to tighten it, while “reprimanding and yelling.” It’s this kind of physical—excessively physical—force that is too often used on autistic children in the form of restraints like the basket hold as well as isolating measures like timeout rooms and a concrete quiet room. It might seem like “just what should be done” to control a child who’s tantrumming.
It’s not.
A June 23rd Ed …read more

Two teachers from the Ocean View School District (Southern California) used a technique called prone restraint on a 7-year-old boy with autism and severe disabilities on September 6, 2007. The student suffered bruises, scratches, and a broken nose. According to MSNBC, the student, who does not speak, was throwing classroom items, hitting and running when teacher Gina Messig and assistant teacher Mai Vo used prone restraint to calm the student:
The two teachers held the child’s leg and arm while the student was face down on the floor, the school report said. Prone restraint – which means the person is …read more