Oddly, New York Refused to Fund Electric Shock Therapy for Autistic Children
This one is incredible to me. New York, easily the state spending the most on treating children with autism and other spectrum disorders, cut off the $50 million it was paying a school in Canton Mass for about 150 children because the school uses backpacks to shock the children with "bee sting"-like electric jolts when they misbehave:The Rotenberg Center provides an intensive, 24-hour program that begins with a typical school setting, but about half the residents require the "aversive therapy" of electric shock, according to Rotenberg staff. The center describes the one- to two-second shocks as similar to a bee sting.What's next? Defunding a lobotomy clinic for autistic kids in Maine?For years, the state has contracted with the facility, where autistic and other disabled students wear backpack-like devices that shock them when they misbehave.
contribute a comment
Comments have been closed for this post.
comments
Mike Stanton has some additional info on JRC at his blog.
- by Joe on Jun 17, 2006 at 12:16 AM | link
The battle over JRC and the "practices" it inflicts on people with developmental disabilities has been going on for at least a quarter of a century. In fact, as one advocate from Mass. recently commented, many of the same findings were included in a report ten years ago on JRC.
Nothing was done then, and it looks like history is repeating itself. According to the AP, NY State has decided to continue funding the facility. See the following link:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--disabledyouths0619jun19,0,3348320.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
For a sample of how nothing's really changed at this place, here's the story of Linda Cornelison, who died at the same facility - in 1990:
http://normemma.com/lcorneli.htm
- by Stephen Drake on Jun 19, 2006 at 2:32 PM | link
Thanks for the follow-up link.
Bioethics bloggers, I'm not sure this is among your clearest posts. It might be possible to interpret this item in ways other than you intended, especially by readers who scan it quickly.
- by etbnc on Jun 19, 2006 at 7:35 PM | link