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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 News article by Families Against Restraint and Seclusion (in Florida) addresses these practices head-on:
Florida has no laws or regulations to protect our children from the over use of restraint and seclusion. Most school districts have no guidelines, no tracking system, no consent from parents and no parent notification in many cases.
Many of our children have little or no communication and the only way they can communicate is through behavior. Because school staff do not understand what our children are trying to say through behaviors, they are punished by being restrained, put in seclusion, put in time out or suspended. The trauma this has caused our children and the emotional drain to our families should never happen to any child or family.
If you file a complaint with the FLDOE you are filing a complaint with them about them and nothing happens. It’s a broken process that many families have tried to get help from only to find that there is no help.
And then there are the forged documents that they come up with to prove parents wrong. And let’s not forget about retaliation on parents if you speak up too much.
Because filing a complaint with the FLDOE is a waste of time parents have turned to Governor Crist, the School Board, the Department of Children and Family Services, local police departments, Office of Civil Rights, Inspector Generals office, Florida Advocacy Group and so far all we have heard from each group is “there is nothing they can do because they have no authority over public schools.” No authority over children being abused? It seems that public school districts can do whatever they want and not be held responsible.
Using force on those who can’t speak up about it—there’s a better way. It’s called good teaching and good training of teachers, with regular support and supervision, and instituting measures to protect disabled children
Here’s Families Against Restraint and Seclusion, and here’s Florida Families Against Restraint and Seclusion.
@Tishanne,
A full school day in a timeout room?
Hope your child is doing all right now.
Parents need to be informed by certified mail prior to their child being secluded or kept in seclusion. The parents also need a reporting agency to file complaints with in the result of seclusion of their child without given permission. The board of pediatrics needs to make recomendations for the proper or affective time limits and means to establish this time factor involving seculsion. Its an outrage this has happened to my child without my permission. I have no idea how often it was used. I do know the time length for keeping my autistic child in a timeout locked small room was a full school day more then once. The school even hired a door person and yet failed to inform me or get my permission.
articles like this make me so happy that I first chose to home school, and then cyber school, my son with asperger’s. I am so glad I had that choice, however, many parents cannot. The lack of accountability of persons charged with the care of our children, the most important concern in our lives, is absolutely appalling. I am always disgusted to hear politicians use academic standards as a platform issue; doesn’t anybody care about the kids’ emotional and physical well being? How about spending some of those NCLB dollars on preventing the schools from becoming torture chambers? I have seen all too often the tolerance for student bullies who target both neurotypical and special ed kids, no wonder the teachers and administrators can get away with it.
It should seem obvious that punishing a child for trying to communicate in their way is not the right way to go but I don’t think it’s caught on,. I’m glad there are people fighting for the rights of autistic children.
@Mrs. C,
thank you.
We could not homeschool Charlie — he likes to go places, and come back home, and then there’s our jobs. It happens that a lot of parents have moved to the town we live in for the reputation of the schools, period. The administrative back and forth that we’ve had to go through, and will no doubt have to again in the future, just seems part of the package—-I’m helped greatly by knowing that our struggle to get Charlie into the educational setting he can thrive in was not the only one.
And yes, I’d rather not be fighting each other, too many other things to attend to!
“Because school staff do not understand what our children are trying to say through behaviors, they are punished by being restrained, put in seclusion, put in time out or suspended.”
Yup. And even though I speak, and when I can’t, then I type, even when an articulated verbal explanation is right there in words in front of them, I usually get this kind of reaction too. Much easier to blame a lack of understanding on inherent deficits in me, when I’ve known plenty of NTs who are my age, no training whatever, and they can better understand because they don’t put me through this systemic filter of me being inherently mysterious.
Well, having been through experiences in our district, I’m homeschooling my Elf. I’m not really in favour of teacher training in school districts or school funding at ALL. I vote NO on everything!
To my mind, these folks can abuse kids and get away with it, and they can do it on MY TAX MONEY, which they use to cover their butts with expensive lawyers when something goes wrong. Perhaps my experiences have made me an extremist? I didn’t start out that way and used to be a regular volunteer, PTA member and the whole bit. Now I have a hard time reconciling the ideas like “some nice people work in public school” and “public schools really do this to real children, including mine.”
Perhaps you are right, and public schools will be here whether I like ‘em or not. They’d better at least know what they’re doing. But I just… can’t… bring… myself to be supportive of them.
I do appreciate parents with the knowledge, time, energy and money who are able to stay and fight, however. Too often we fight amongst ourselves instead of tolerating other viewpoints on what’s best for autistic children.
Kristina, thank you for your blog and your intelligent treatment of issues relating to autism. :]
Charlie has learned to ask for a break if it gets noisy in his room and he wants to leave. Usually he goes for a walk in the hall or (if he requests it) a ride on the scooter.
We were never informed in advance about restraints being used on Charlie in our old school district. It was presented to us as “what you do,” after the fact, and with no sense of how it was supposed to stop behaviors like head-banging. If I’d known then what I know now (famous last words).
I agree. I don’t want anyone restraining my child or giving her a time out unless I am in total agreement. We found through first hand experience that restraint does not work. There are better ways.
Sorry that was supposed to be ” I am so happy I found Families Against Restraint and Seclusion” !!!
When Tristan gets to the point where he’s disturbing the other students (all his classmates are autistic – one child crying can cause a domino effect), or is getting too upset to participate, they take him to the sensory room, a place that is separate, and a place that he likes, so while he is taken out of the classroom situation, he is taken to a comforting place, and of course an adult is with him at the time. if he doesn’t calm down so that he can return to class, they’ll give me a call so I can pick him up, and that’s only happened a few times. No restraint or seclusion. Take him to a place he likes; if that doesn’t work call mommy (which is an instant calmer for him – he usually jumps right into my arms for hugs).
“there is nothing they can do because they have no authority over public schools.” No authority over children being abused?
——————————
At one time I looked over the mandatory reporting laws and who could be reported in our state.
Almost anyone and his brother could report parents for a suspicion of abuse.
Reporting suspected or observed inappropriate use of restraint or seclusion in a public school was unspecified; the regulations were more in the vein of what was allowed. My experience in contacting various state agencies on these questions were similar (“we are concerned with the welfare of children, blah-blah-blah, but not our jurisdiction”).
It is very concerning that there is not more independent oversight and formalized reporting mechanisms. When laws are proposed or regulations developed, it was recommended to me to read closely and skeptically to see who is being protected and what is the reporting and investigation standard.
Schools perform a valued public function, but the standards that we expect outside of that setting should prevail within, primarily for the protection of children but also for public confidence that a system is not acting as a law unto itself.
I have been dealing with the “local autonomy” issue in Missouri. Unless the laws change here, the department of education will do nothing to protect the kids in public school. My district has seclusion rooms in every building but 1. Whether or not a kid is placed in one is up to the IEP team… and it is so easy for parents to be mislead (we were) down that road and the room (and restraint) be way misused, overused, and abused. I am so happy I found Restraint and Seclusion… I wasn’t nearly as overwhelmed when starting to DO SOMETHING and take a stand.