A Hero in New Jersey

I've seen a lot of stories that have almost made me come out of blogging hibernation.  But this one just speaks to me, on many different levels, that I had to put my 2 cents in.

Stu Chaifetz is a divorced 44 year old dad that lives in New Jersey.  His 10 year old son, Aiken, lives mostly with him.  I don't know what he does, but he strikes me as a "regular guy" that finally got fed up with being run around by the system, and found an effective way to get to the bottom of what was bothering his son, and correct it.  I highly encourage you to watch this video if you haven't seen it yet.



A couple of things strike me about his story, and how he responded to the school system and the teachers.  First of all, he saw behavior that was atypical for his kid.  Aiken never lashed out, but all of a sudden was reported to be hitting teachers.  I think most school systems are similar across the country.  No matter how "good" the school system is, the individual child is assumed to be the cause of the child's behavior, and the thought that it could possibly be from something happening in the school environment external to the child is never entertained (We're Professionals, We Can Do NO Wrong).  Stu tried to work with the system (he, like the rest of us, was left little choice).  He went to meetings, revisited the IEP, tried to institute revisions of the behavioral plan after a specialist observed his son.  But things still didn't feel right to Stu, so he dropped a small audio recorder in Aiken's pocket, and sent him to school.

Now, if a kid was randomly being harassed by someone at the school, it might take weeks to catch that person in the act.  But Stu caught this in one day.  ONE DAY.  Which tells me such things were happening MOST DAYS.  Rather than being in a nurturing environment, Aiken is told to "shut his mouth" and called a bastard.  His teachers (by this, I include whoever it was-teacher or aides-that are caught on tape) display no sense of proper decorum, and instead exploit Aiken's anxiety regarding going to his mother's for the weekend by taunting him.

I have long advocated for audio visual recording in all public areas in a school, tapes of which would be available for review to parents and outside neutral parties whenever an "incident report" was filed on a child.  Audio and video recordings are great "neutral" observers.  Just ask Rodney King, as well as the truck driver that was senselessly pulled from his truck and beaten after that incident 20 years ago.  Incidents like what happened to Aiken surely take place every day across this country.  I am sure that most teachers are good, hardworking and dedicated to the welfare of their students.  And I suppose that although most of them might initially feel uncomfortable knowing that their actions were subject to review, most would also realize that such tapes could also be used to exonerate them if they were falsely accused.

My son Buddy Boy was almost expelled from Kindergarten 6 years ago, mostly because the principal of the school had it in for him.  It took nearly a year, a lawyer, and lots of money to straighten that out, but after being transferred to another school, he did fine.

Stu Chaifetz has repeatedly said that he's not at war with the school district.  He's even said that he doesn't want to sue the district.  He only wants what each of us would want for our child-justice.  He wants an apology, and he wants those involved to find other employment.  Unfortunately, the teacher from the classroom has been reassigned to the high school.  Stu, unsurprisingly, is steamed, and has started lobbying the state legislature to pass a law to try to prevent such a thing from happening again.  Meanwhile, Aiken's former teacher has hired a lawyer and threatened to sue Stu.  Stu has basically said "Bring. It. On."

I wouldn't bet against Stu in that matchup.

Georgia Scores a Hat Trick

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In the game of hockey, a hat trick refers to when a single player scores three goals on the opposing team during the same game.

In the game of "how can we be the most discriminatory against autistics", the US state of Georgia has been in the news three times in the last two weeks. First it was charging a 14 year old autistic boy with felony terrorism charges for stick figure drawings he put on his homework. Then it was police using a taser on an 18 year old autistic young man who didn't answer their questions fast enough, and appeared different.

Today Georgia is in the news again, and again it's for tasing an autistic man. According to Fox News:

"Twenty-three-year-old D.J. Moran said multiple officers surrounded him, cuffed him on the ground and then tasered him, MyFoxAtlanta reports."

Of course, the multiple officers couldn't possibly handle this after they surrounded the man and were putting him on the ground, so they just had to taser him:

"Police officials released a statement saying, 'The officer used a taser when the suspect failed to cooperate by struggling and resisting, after being instructed to place his hands behind his back. The suspect only complied after the taser was used.' "

Fortunately, even though the police tried to cover themselves by charging the man with multiple felonies, a jury (who saw a police cruiser cam video of the event) saw things differently:

"Police charged Moran with multiple felonies, but a jury did not convict him."

So congratulations, Georgia! Guess I won't be spending any of my vacation dollars in your state this year.

The Nail That Sticks Up...

Will Be Hammered Down.

So goes an old Japanese saying, meant to illustrate (as well as inculcate) a sense of conformity among the Japanese people. Westerners (especially Americans) are supposed to place much more value on non-conformity and individuality.

But that idea only goes so far, and is noticably absent in the American public school system. When it comes to school kids, conformity is king. And if you step out of line, you will be hammered down, sometimes quite forcefully.

Nowhere is this more evident then when it comes to kids with disabilities, especially those on the autism spectrum. Often, kids on the spectrum have various sensory processing difficulties, and may also persevorate on certain things. When they run into difficulty, they can get emotionally "wound up" fairly quickly, and appear to be "acting out" and being volitionally bad. When given a little extra time and understanding, their behavior is most often a slight inconvenience to those around them, and at worst a slight nuisance. But when those around them insist on total conformity, and react by touching the person and physically restraining them, then the autistic person (like most people physically restrained for reasons they don't understand at the time would) react with a "fight or flight" type of syndrome and lash out at those restraining them.

Google the words "child autism arrested", and you quickly are faced with several stories over several years that seem to follow the same script: A child on the autism spectrum is placed in a regular classroom (often with a history of the family fighting for more support than what is being provided), said child "acts up" a bit (involving no or minor physical interaction with staff or other children), teacher reacts by physically restraining child, child "lashes out" (by kicking, pinching, biting), police are called, and child is arrested. There is often no behavioral plan in place to deal with the child's behavioral difficulties, and if there is a plan, it is often not followed. Children as young as 5 years old have been placed in handcuffs and arrested. Others who are slightly older are not only arrested, but sometimes thrown in psychiatric institutions or jail.

Such is the case with Zakh Price, age 11 (his picture's at the top), who was arrested and charged with a felony. Click Zakh's name to read Emily's excellent investigative piece into this latest travesty of justice. Another article detailing the facts can be found here. And Emily's follow up piece detailing some of the personal attacks made against Zakh and his grandmother can be found here.

This story rings all too true to me. My son is in fourth grade, and while the police have not been called on him (yet), the school district had threatened to do that in the past, when he was 5 years old. That period of time resulted in a short detour to a class for emotionally disturbed children, LOTS of meetings (with their lawyers, our advocates, and our lawyer), and a bunch of money payed out in legal and consulting fees. I was fortunate to be blessed with coworkers that allowed me flexible time off to go to all the meetings, as well as a job that pays well enough for us to afford the bills that came with this.

Zakh is lucky to have his grandmother, Carole Reynolds, who is a staunch advocate for him. Unfortunately, Carole is tapped out of the kind of money that legal representation requires, and she needs some help.

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) has issued an action alert, which lists e-mail addresses and phone numbers you can call to register your concerns. A website set up to take donations for Zakh's legal bills has also been set up for him.

I admit that I don't usually donate to online causes. Not only are there so many of them, but it's often difficult to discern which are legitimate, and which are scams. ASAN is a legitimate organization (Its president, Ari Ne'eman, has been nominated to be on an advisory council to the President of the United States), and Emily is a top notch, ethical person who's truthfulness and judgement I totally trust.

So I'm asking you to do what I did. Go to the website, click on the "Chip In" button, and give what you can. Even if it's 1,5, 10, or 20 dollars, everything will help. And keep this family in your prayers.

Unfortunately this story is not unique. But it does seem to be much more common for school districts to try to get out of paying for proper supports for children with disabilities by dumping them into the legal system. Perhaps there is also an attempt to silence those who would have the temerity to ask for support that the system is not willing to provide. Perhaps such prosecutions are meant to silence those voices before they even speak up.

Let the people in Fort Smith, Arkansas know that treating an 11 year old with a disability this way is unacceptable. Support Carole Reynolds as she supports Zakh. Go to the website. Make that donation.

Now, before it's too late.

When Will They Listen?

One would have had to have been living in a cave in the greater disability community two years ago not to have noticed the Ransom Notes Campaign and the furor that followed it. In that campaign the NYU Child Study Center put out an ad campaign that implied that autistic individuals (as well as those with a number of other conditions) had been kidnapped. This imagery was (not surprisingly) extremely offensive to many in the greater disability community. After an intense counter campaign by disability advocacy groups, including ASAN, the Ransom Notes Campaign was stopped.

The above video takes up where the Ransom Campaign ended, and goes on from there. Not content just to dehumanize autistic individuals, the Autism Speaks video goes on to paint a picture of horror using the most vivid imagery it can find-your marriage will fail, you will go broke, you will never be able to function in society at all, etc.

And as pointed out over at "Cat in a Dog's World", perhaps the worst part about it was that they used video sent in by autistic families while they had their doom and gloom voiceover.

Two years ago the NYU CSC claimed ignorance of the way that autistic (and other disabled individuals) felt. The response at that time was heard throughout the country, even in major national media.

I wonder what excuse Autism Speaks can possibly come up with this time.

Just Claim They Were Autistic

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In a story on the wire yesterday, a man in Salem, Oregon was arrested and jailed after shocking his four children with a shock collar meant to train dogs. According to the story

"Todd Marcum, 41, said he did it "because he thought it was funny," Salem Police Lt. Dave Okada said. ...

Marcum was taken into custody on four charges of first-degree criminal mistreatment. He is in the Marion County jail."

Now if Marcum had had a lick of sense, he would have just told the police that he thought his children were autistic, and needed some training. Because he had been on the internet, and he knew that the Judge Rotenberg Center uses shocks to control autistic kids. And it's perfectly legal. Other states even send their autistic kids to Massachusetts to the JRC so they can be shocked, too.

Marcum could have stated that his children were swearing, nagging, or flapping their hands, and thus qualified to receive shocks.

Now the only problem is that the dog collar that Marcum used was probably a lot less powerful than the one that is routinely used at the JRC. The dog collar is a small, self contained unit, while the JRC devices need a backpack to haul around. The dog collar will stimulate for up to a half second, while the "GED" devices used by the JRC will shock you for up to 2 seconds.

I found out while poking around that dog collars are subject to legal regulations, which state (amongst other things) that they can be applied for no more than 12 hours in any 24 hour period, and they can't put out more than 15 milliamps root mean square. The JRC uses devices that put out an average (not maximum) of 15 milliamps RMS, and a maximum of 45 milliamps RMS (fully three times as powerful as the maximum allowed for a dog collar).

So Marcum, if you or your lawyer are reading this, just claim you were using a tried and tested method of disciplining your kids, who you suspect are autistic (don't forget the autistic part-people might not approve of your behavior otherwise).

Perhaps the Massachusetts and New York legislatures would be interested in the torture by electric shocks that is occurring if there were dogs that were being shocked. Because they haven't been interested when it was only autistic individuals involved.

Thinking Outside the Box

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There are two old sayings that come to mind when I think of seclusion rooms. One's an old Japanese saying-"The nail that sticks up get's hammered down." The other one's a saying that's commonly used in surgery-"When all you've got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

I think that both of these principles have come to govern the use of seclusion and restraints in special education. For too many years, in too many places, children who have occasional outbursts in schools have been seen as disruptions, nuisances, drains on resources, undisciplined, bad, and generally problems to be controlled. And the tools that have been most often resorted to to remedy the situation have been the ones seen to be most expedient-the use of restraints and seclusion rooms.

It was recognized over 50 years ago in psychiatric hospitals that use of seclusion rooms and restraints increased, rather than decreased, the incidence of behaviors. Why, then, does the use of these rooms persist into modern times in schools?

People must use them because they believe it's the best alternative. But what leads them to believe this, and what are the real facts?

In a monograph written for the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders written in 2000, Michael P. George, the author and a special educator, refers to potentially damaging assumptions that he believes are present amongst special educators are the following:

Children with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) come from bad homes, and since we cannot change the homes, we cannot succeed with the children in our schools.

Children with E/BD are incapable of controlling their behavior or regulating their emotions, and it is up to us, the professionals, to control them.

Most children and youth with E/BD are so aggressive and violent they can be educated only in very restrictive settings.

The more serious the misbehavior of the children and youths under our care, the more intrusive and severe our methods must be in treating them.

Seclusion time-out and physical restraint are necessary interventions for the most serious and intractable of these youths.

He then asks the obvious question of how those beliefs guide practices and methods, and concludes that many in the field accept the use of seclusion and restraints because they are believed to be effective. Meanwhile, the obvious side effects of using violence to treat violence (anger, resentment, fear, resistance, feelings of hate, and even death) were being ignored.

George then describes how the culture of the school was changed, which resulted in a year to year difference of a decrease in the use of physical restraints by 69%, and a decrease in the number of minutes spent in seclusion by 77%.

Ryan et al., in an study entitled "Reducing the Use of Seclusion and Restraint in a Day School Program", describes how

The majority of students placed in seclusion during both school years came from elementary and middle school. High school students were rarely placed in time-out during either year (10.7% and 12.4% respectively). Restraints were also performed much more frequently among younger students during both years. During the 2002–2003 school year, the preponderance of all restraints (80.9%) were performed on elementary students. Students in middle school were much less likely to be restrained (14.7%), while high school students rarely (4.4%) experienced this procedure. During the second year, the elementary grades still represented the majority (67.9%) of all restraints performed, while no restraints were performed on high school students.

The median age of those placed in seclusion was 13, while the median age of those restrained was 8, even though the study group included children up through high school (approximately 18 years of age). He attempts to explain these findings thru positing the following possibilities:

1. their possessing fewer mechanisms for coping with frustration,
2. staff may believe intrusive procedures may be more developmentally appropriate for younger children, or
3. that staff may be apprehensive to perform these procedures on larger and stronger individuals.

Whatever the reason, it seems apparent that it's generally considered OK to restrain and abuse kids in special education, especially when they're young.

Dr. Stuart Ablon, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts (yes, the same state that houses the Judge Rotenberg Center) is the Director of a program called "Think:Kids" in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. This program espouses collaborative problem solving (CPS) with kids who have behavior problems, instead of the use of restraints and seclusion rooms. As one might expect from the name, CPS helps kids and adult caretakers work together to resolve problems in a mutually satisfactory manner. They try to identify specific cognitive skills that individuals lack (executive skills, emotional regulation skills, social skills, etc.) and find ways to teach them.

Unlike the assumptions cited above that special educators often have, they teach a different approach based on respect and collaboration. This approach was first laid out by Dr. Ross Greene in the book "The Explosive Child". Dr.'s Ablon and Greene collaborated on another book on the subject, "Treating Explosive Kids". While I'm not too wild about the use of the term "explosive" in the titles of these books to describe kids (are they about to literally blow up?) I am all for the philosophy and recommendations they make in their books.

I've referred before to how Ange is working hard at a grassroots campaign in Missouri against the use of seclusion and restraint rooms. If you haven't stopped by there before, please do and lend her some support. If you haven't signed any of the petitions below, then I would suggest that, too. And if you haven't written or called your lawmakers lately, remember that it might make a difference.


http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/831847137

http://autism.change.org/actions/view/end_the_use_of_aversives_restraints_and_seclusion

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/173391/22317452?m=b9452798

Let them know that there is a different and better way to treat our kids then seclusion and restraint.

A Question As To Her Judgement

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Remember Wendy Portillo, the teacher in Port St. Lucie Florida who back in May this year allegedly had her students publicly humiliate and belittle a 5 year old student, Alex, then vote him out of the class? Well, the Port St. Lucie school district finally made a decision on Wendy. According to the TC Palm:

While school district internal investigators said there's no evidence Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo meant to cause harm or embarrassment to Alex Barton, they said in a report released Thursday there is a question as to her judgment.

Additionally, the article noted:

The St. Lucie County School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to suspend Portillo without pay for one year. Her attorney notified the School Board in a letter that Portillo intends to contest Lannon's recommendation with the state's Division of Administrative Hearings.

So after 6 months of investigating, this is what they came up with. It's certainly less than I would want for someone who psychologically traumatized a 5 year old child, but if she moves on and gets a job somewhere else it will be worth it.

The report by the school also said:

The incident could cause Portillo to lose the respect and confidence of her colleagues, students, parents and the public, the report said, citing the extensive national and local coverage of the incident.

I don't think Portillo could lose much more respect in the public eye, though in checking the comments on that story 2 out of 6 still support her.

There are a lot of great teachers out there. Buddy Boy has two of them this year in his class. But when anyone abuses 5 year olds, (especially when they are in a position of authority and trust) then that person needs to be called out.

Here's hoping other potential offenders take notice of what happened to Wendy.

A Great Place to Visit, But...

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Florida is a great place to visit. There's all sorts of things to amuse and satisfy both kids and adults. There's NASA,

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Florida oranges,

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sandy beaches,

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and a park where a somewhat famous mouse lives.


But while one could certainly have a great time visiting Florida with one's kids, it increasingly seems that Florida is not a place one would choose to live with their kids anytime soon. It would seem that Florida may soon have to change their motto from "The Sunshine State" to the "We Hate Kids" state.

Christschool the other day had a great post about the Alex Barton/Portillo case that brought up issues such as the increasing use of police to handle routine school discipline problems, possible inappropriate training of such personnel, and teachers' complicity in ostracizing those who are "different" in their classrooms. This last point was also blogged by Joeymom.

As Shawn pointed out recently, there is a whole system that's at fault here, and not just the teacher (which does not absolve the teacher in any way for her part in this).

One does not have to look far to see other instances where very young children's actions in Florida schools are criminalized, rather than being addressed with behavioral intervention plans. Indeed, some see a "school to prison pipeline" that has developed in the Florida education system.

Given the undisputed facts of the Barton case and the general climate of making criminals out of young students with undesirable behaviors in Florida, I have to agree with Christschool in saying "I believe Alex, too".

I'm on the road right now, and visited with my brother and sister-in-law tonight. My SIL works as a "para" in a 2nd grade classroom. I mentioned the facts of the Barton case to her (she had not heard about the case) using a very neutral voice. She was appalled, as are many good teachers who have read about this case. Yes, I realize that most teachers are great, and really work for the good of all of their students. I also realize that most teachers work under conditions that are less than ideal, without proper supports in place. And that puts a great deal of stress on teachers.

I'm waiting for the investigation by the Port St. Lucie school district, but absent some finding (backed up by evidence) that great portions of Barton's account were made up, I believe Alex.

It's time for Florida to get on the stick, and to stick up for all of its students, not just the ones that are compliant. This means not only rightfully having sanctions on the teacher involved in this case (Ms. Portillo), but also examining the whole education process in Florida and the whole problem with criminalizing school behaviors that have no place in the criminal justice system.

Education, Survivor, and Hamburgers

I think Amanda was the first to point out the recent abuse of a Kindergarten student in Port St. Lucie, Florida. And many others have since weighed in (scroll down the linked blog for a list of other posts).

I would imagine the vast majority of those who read this blog have already heard about this, where a Kindergarten teacher thought it thoroughly appropriate to have a 5 year old student stand in front of the class while his classmates were instructed to tell him what they didn't like about him. The teacher then thought it would be a good idea to have his classmates vote on whether he should be allowed to stay in the class or not.

They voted him out, by a vote of 14-2, in a move reminiscent of the American TV show, Survivor.

The vast majority of blogging on this that I have seen quite rightly call for the "teacher", Wendy Portillo, to be fired immediately.

Bev has kindly posted some contact info for key people that we can register our (polite) displeasure with.

I especially enjoyed Shawn's post at Along The Spectrum as he detailed how although Portillo's actions were especially egregious, that there was blame enough to go around to the whole system that allowed this to happen.

It has been recognized that teachers are sometimes bullies. Some teachers bully because they are sadistic, and some because they were once bullied themselves.

Bullying isn't only something that happens in schools. Increasingly aggressive managers in the workplace sometimes bully their employees, in a style of management referred to as "Hamburger Management". In this form of management, competition is stressed amongst workers, with workers constantly encouraged to be better than their co-workers, and be "winners".

While bullying in the workplace is also wrong, at least the ones being bullied are presumably adults and have the possibility of leaving to find work elsewhere. Often when pupils in schools report bullying, they are not believed, the bullying continues and often gets worse, and they can suffer long term mental health consequences.

Once again, I encourage everyone to go to Bev's blog for a list of the people you can (politely) contact to let them know that such situations are unacceptable.

Justice Delayed

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Well, it might be a case of too little, too late for many who have been tortured at the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) in the past, but I'll take anything at this point.

Yesterday's Boston Globe reported that the JRC is being investigated, and that state investigators went in to the center last week and seized boxes of documents.

I started writing about the JRC about 15 months ago, but they've been up to no good for a lot longer than that. The JRC is famous for using electric shocks in autistic individuals as a form of "aversive therapy". Inmates "Students" at the center wear backpacks with batteries and shocking devices which torturers "patient care technicians" can activate at any time by pushing a button. They shock children for such things as being "defiant", or for matters as trivial as "nagging a teacher".

The state of Massachusetts has considered laws in the past to ban spanking of children, but still allows the JRC to continue its daily torture of children.

According to the Globe article:

State Police seized documents late last week from the offices of the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton that are related to a prank phone call last summer that led two students to wrongfully receive dozens of punishing electrical shocks, according to two people with direct knowledge of the investigation.

I guess all of the shocking things that go on at the JRC on a daily basis, like starvation and shocking "students" is just fine, but give some of those same "students" some extra shocks and NOW they're sitting up and taking notice.

The article goes on to say:

The collection of evidence has to do with a yearlong grand jury investigation led by the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley, said Kenneth Mollins, a New York lawyer who has filed several lawsuits against the school and who said he spoke to a representative of Coakley's office about the Rotenberg investigation. Mollins said he was told the grand jury is also examining possible financial improprieties by the school.

I just hope that this investigation sheds enough light on this stinkhole of a place that the public finally sees it for what it is.

What Makes Someone Be So Cruel?

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Like a lot of other people, I've been following the Poling case closely. But another case in the news caught my attention this week.

This week, in the sleepy Mississippi river town of Alton, IL, 6 people have been charged in the death of a developmentally disabled woman who was 6 months pregnant. The 6 people charged range in age from 43 down to 12 years old. According to the story

Police said the autopsy revealed Dixon died on January 31 after being repeatedly shot with a BB gun, being scalded with a hot liquid and being beaten on her head and body. They said Dixon's fetus also died.

And lest we think that this horrid incident was a crime of passion,

Police said the attacks lasted for four to eight weeks.

I agree with others that it's not these things we need to worry about so much, as everyone realizes how unacceptable this behavior is, and that most people, when it is explained what the Judge Rotenberg Center does, also feel that it is unacceptable. I also feel that what we really have to worry about are the things that fly under our radar, like all the things that happen in institutions daily that we never hear about, and how most of us never think twice about the "helping" paradigm in disability.

But still, when I read a story like this one, I still don't understand how people can do such things to each other.

All involved in this have been charged with first degree murder, as well as a variety of other charges.

Primum non nocere

I was traveling all day yesterday, and didn't go online when I got home. So I missed that the verdict in the Karen McCarron case came in. As most everyone in the world with any connection with autism knows, in May, 2006 Karen McCarron murdered her child Katie by holding a garbage bag over her head until she suffocated and died. Her lawyer had argued that she was not guilty by reason of insanity, but the evidence said otherwise, as she actively tried to cover up her crime.

Karen McCarron was a doctor. A person who was trained to heal. Since at least the late 19th century, the phrase "primum non nocere" (First, do no harm) has been a common medical aphorism. The admonition is to make doctors stop and consider any harmful effects their treatment might have, and make sure that the potential beneficial effects outweigh the bad.

The last time I checked, murder was not considered a viable treatment option for anything.

The end of the trial brings a conclusion for the rest of the McCarron family who grieve for their lost child, but I am afraid that this is not the end for those who would do harm to those who are different.

Katie McCarron was loved by many, and murdered by a woman who betrayed the trust that Katie put in her as her mother, a person who was trained to heal, but chose to murder.

There is no joy in the guilty verdict. It will not bring Katie back. But perhaps-perhaps it will give some pause to those who would make videos saying that they have considered killing their offspring. Perhaps it will give some pause to those who concentrate on "getting rid of the autism" instead of loving their child.

Perhaps it will make all of us think differently when we see people disparaged, disowned, and devalued for their differences.

Now Comes the Hard Part

Like many in the autism related blogosphere, I rejoiced yesterday when I heard that the NYU "Ransom Notes" campaign had been pulled by its director, Dr. Harold Koplewicz. I had blogged about my ethical concerns with this campaign, and felt that the campaign demeaned those who had those conditions, and would only further continued ostracizing and marginalizing by the public at large.

It is a huge thing for someone to stop an ad campaign that is just getting underway. I am sure that there were a lot of people that had a lot invested in designing and implementing that campaign, and it was hard for them just to scrap it. It is a testament to Ari Ne'eman's astute perception of the exact tone to strike in opposing this campaign, and his organizing prowess that this victory took place.

At the same time, I give Dr. Koplewicz credit for his part in this. Having launched a big campaign, and after reviewing the large outpouring of negative comments, he was willing to not let his ego stop him from doing what was the right thing. As I stated in my original post, there is much in his past stated comments, as well as publications, to think that he is not the enemy of autistics and others with various conditions. When someone stops, apologizes, and asks for input, I think they deserve the benefit of the doubt.

I think it is a major step that Dr. Koplewicz proposed a "town hall" forum that would include viewpoints of all the stakeholders of the campaign.

Now that the "relatively easy" part of objecting to what was obviously a very negative and hurtful campaign is over, the real work needs to begin. It is much easier to protest than to come up with positive and catchy slogans and ad campaigns. I have great hope that there are many very creative individuals within the disability community that will help in designing a campaign that all can be proud of, and that will be effective.

On another front, as has been mentioned elsewhere (here and here), The National Institute on Mental Health issued a "Request for Information" asking for input into what kind of autism research should be funded. The deadline for submissions is near (Jan. 4th). Responses need to be limited to two pages, and response needs to be to a particular e-mail address (iacc@mail.nih.gov).

So put on your thinking caps quickly, get your thoughts together, go to Kathleen Seidel's site to see the entire proposal, and get your submissions in. We all need to make positive contributions to let people know what we expect from our government and private sectors.

Ethics-Easier Said than Done

Although I consider myself a good general physician, as well as being very good in my chosen specialty, I am neither a psychiatrist nor a pediatrician. Since this blog deals a lot with issues concerning autism, I don't usually put on my "doctor" hat here. But sometimes some subjects get to me not just as the parent of my autistic son, but also as a physician.

The recent episode of the NYU Child Study Center's (together with its director, Dr. Harold Koplewicz) "Ransom Notes" campaign raises serious ethical concerns that I think need to be addressed. Kristina Chew over at Autism Vox summarized many of the excellent responses by the autism community to these ill conceived ads. I'm going to address this purely from the perspective of a fellow physician.

I have always considered the ability to practice medicine a privilege that is granted me by society. Having been granted that privilege, I, like all physicians, have certain responsibilities towards not only my own patients, but also to society in general.

The American Medical Association, as one of the major professional associations of physicians in the US, publishes Principles of Medical Ethics which all physicians are expected to adhere to. I'd like to take a few minutes here to review some of what is stated in that document. Here's one section that I found:

E-9.123 Disrespect and Derogatory Conduct in the Patient-Physician Relationship



The relationship between patients and physicians is based on trust and should serve to promote patients’ well-being while respecting their dignity and rights. Trust can be established and maintained only when there is mutual respect.

Derogatory language or actions on the part of physicians can cause psychological harm to those they target. Also, such language or actions can cause reluctance in members of targeted groups to seek or to trust medical care and thus create an environment that strains relationships among patients, physicians, and the health care team. Therefore, any such conduct is profoundly antithetical to the Principles of Medical Ethics. ...

On its website NYU's Child Study Center (CSC) gives good lip service to subscribing to the above principle:

Our key goals include:

* Increasing the body of scientific knowledge about child mental illness
* Eliminating the stigma of being or having a child with a psychiatric disorder
* Improving the practices of professionals serving children
* Influencing child-related public policy

How does that square with the "Ransom Notes" campaign, where they have ads such stating things like:

We have your son.

We will make sure he will
not be able to care for
himself or interact socially
as long as he lives.

*This is only the beginning.

Autism

Now I might expect something like the above ad twenty years ago, or perhaps now from someone who is totally ignorant regarding current concepts in autism. But from a major medical center's Department of Child Psychiatry? Never. Such rhetoric is blatantly wrong, totally derogatory, and sure to increase discrimination against all autistics. To hide behind a justification of "increasing awareness" is disingenuous at best, and outright lying at worst.

The "Ransom Notes" campaign is all about publicity. Whether it's viewed as primarily advertising for NYU's CSC (which I do), or as a public service message, the following section of the AMA's Principles of Medical Ethics addresses this point.

E-5.02 Advertising and Publicity


...Aggressive, high-pressure advertising and publicity should be avoided if they create unjustified medical expectations or are accompanied by deceptive claims. The key issue, however, is whether advertising or publicity, regardless of format or content, is true and not materially misleading. ...

Again, the gross factual inaccuracy of the description of autism renders this ad unethical.

When it comes to Psychiatry, the World Psychiatric Association also has some things to say regarding ethics. This comes from them commenting on psychiatrists and the media:

• Psychiatrists addressing the media. The media has a key role in shaping the attitudes of the community. In all contacts with the media psychiatrists shall ensure that people with mental illness are presented in a manner which preserves their dignity and pride, and which reduces stigma and discrimination against them. An important role of psychiatrists is to advocate for those people who suffer from mental disorders. ...

Keep the above in mind while reading this:

We have your daughter.

We are making her wash her hands until
they are raw, every day.

This is only the beginning.

-OCD
----------------------------

We have taken your son.

We have imprisoned him in
a maze of darkness
with no hope of ever
getting out. Do nothing
and see what happens.

-Depression

Preserving dignity and pride? Reducing stigma and discrimination? Not in my book.

Now from Googling Harold Koplewicz and reading about him, before this I wouldn't have thought him a bad guy. He's written several books, including one titled "It's Nobody's Fault:New Hope and Help for Difficult Children and Their Parents". He's a Vice Dean, Full Professor, and Department Chairman at a prestigious university, and has received numerous awards from various groups, and has appeared often on mainstream media. He's not some fly by night practitioner of woo that I would expect such claptrap from.

But now I'm going to address the good doctor directly.

Harold, I may be a simple country doctor in flyover country, but I gotta tell ya. Your reputation alone isn't going to get you thru this one. It's time to "man up", take the hit, and admit that you got this whole campaign totally wrong. Everyone can make a mistake, and you made a big one. Being "edgy" doesn't cut it when the ads going out in your name are full of untruths and are frankly unethical in their demeaning portrayal of those with a variety of conditions. Accept responsibility, apologize sincerely, and go on. Do so, and people will listen and be willing to start a dialogue with you. Keep delaying, and this will only get bigger. You've succeeded in uniting and galvanizing widely disparate groups of people against this campaign, and secondarily against you.

Be the physician your record would indicate you have been. Do the right thing.

Spanking Bad, but Shocking Still OK

In Massachusetts, it's a good day to be a kid. That is, unless you're an autistic kid.

A story in today's Boston Herald online edition details how the state legislature is set to debate outlawing spanking of any kind in the state, including in one's own home. As stated in the article:

...If signed into law, parents would be prohibited from forcefully laying a hand on any child under age 18 unless it was to wrest them from danger, lest they be charged with abuse or neglect. ...

This would make Massachusetts the first state in the US to ban spanking. Massachusetts has long been known to be a very liberal state. And this proposed ban on spanking is evidence of that bent. Inexplicably, however, that liberal concern of the state for the welfare of children doesn't exist if you happen to be on the autism spectrum.

As this article in the online Village Voice pointed out, at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts, administering electric shocks to autistic students in this residential "school" is an everyday occurrence.

...The only thing that sets these students apart from kids at any other school in America (aside from their special-ed designation) is the electric wires running from their backpacks to their wrists. Each wire connects to a silver-dollar-sized metal disk strapped with a cloth band to the student's wrist, forearm, abdomen, thigh, or foot. Inside each student's backpack is a battery and a generator, both about the size of a VHS cassette. Each generator is uniquely coded to a single keychain transmitter kept in a clear plastic box labeled with the student's name. Staff members dressed neatly in ties and green aprons keep the boxes hooked to their belts, and their eyes trained on the students' behavior. They stand ready, if they witness a behavior they've been told to target, to flip open the box, press the button, and deliver a painful two-second electrical shock into the student at the end of the wire. ...

So, as the Boston Herald notes, laying a hand on a child forcefully in any manner would earn you being charged with abuse or neglect, while in the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) withholding food and shocking kids is considered therapy. And if a small shock doesn't get the desired result, then just increase the level of shock.

...They still withhold food from some students as an aversive, but shocks are their main treatment. The school began using electric shock in 1989, but the device they first used, called SIBIS, was so weak that many students grew accustomed to it, eroding its effectiveness. So Israel developed the GED, which he registered with the Food and Drug Administration in 1995. (The GED was classified in such a way that it only required FDA registration, not approval.) When students grew innured to that, Israel brought forth the GED-4, three times as powerful as the original GED. That version is not registered with the FDA, which now says the Rotenberg Center is exempt because it's only using the machines in-house. ...

And although Dr. Israel, the founder and head of the JRC, justifies the use of involuntary shocks because of self injurious violent behavior on the part of students, its use is not limited to that.

...But the GED isn't only used when a life is at stake, or when a student hurts himself or another, but also for "noncompliance" or "simple refusal." "We don't allow individuals just to stay in bed all day," says Dr. Robert von Heyn, a Rotenberg clinician, in a video for parents. "We want to teach people. So we may use the GED to treat noncompliance." Other behavior that doesn't appear dangerous also could earn a zap. While it might seem excessive to shock a student for nagging his teacher, Israel asks, what if the kid nags all the time, every minute, every day? The nagging interferes with his learning, so he can't learn self-control and develop normally. JRC's choice is to shock him, stop the nagging, and let him learn. ...

As a parent, I am not the biggest proponent to spanking. Generally speaking, I try my hardest to avoid it, and consider each episode at least partly a failure of parenting on my part. But I also think that parents need to be given latitude in raising their own children, and that a swat to the butt is not the worst thing in the world.

I believe that I know the difference between a swat on the butt and child abuse. Unfortunately, it would appear that the state of Massachusetts has gotten it entirely backwards. A swat on the butt will get a parent arrested if this law passes, but starving kids or jolting them with electric shocks for non-compliance in school gets you paid hefty sums of money from the state.

Magical Thinking

photo credit-D'Arcy Norman
creative commons license

Recently in the Chicago Tribune a story appeared entitled "Autism and the adopted child". I have to admit the title caught my eye, as the father of an adopted child that is autistic. The story referred to a blog post by a mom by the name of "Pickel" that was entitled 'Finally My Son is..."Finding the Words" '.

I should have known that my blood pressure was going to rise as I read this story. The first paragraph starts out:

Since we adopted our son from Russia in the summer of 2005 we have struggled with him. From his fingertips to his toenails the child is a medical mystery and developmental mess.

Anyone that starts off referring to their son as "the child" and as a "developmental mess" is digging themselves a hole in my book. I understand when adoptive parents don't bond immediately with the children they adopt. But it's been two years! When will she consider him her son?

Did we have any clue when we adopted him? Sure, some. We knew he would be delayed because most institutionalized children are. However, just before he turned 3 the local school district told us that they estimated his developmental age to be between 13 and 18 months. We were floored.

Little Pickel has been diagnosed with Institutional Autism, H Pylori, Severe Gastritis, food allergies, Gross and Fine Motor Delay, Receptive and Expressive Speech Delay, Post Traumatic Stress, Separation Anxiety, and Sensory Processing Dysfunction. He has also had three surgeries; ear tubes and 2 GI scopes.

He is only 4.

Oh, OK, I get it. This is one of those pity party pieces. What she really wants to say is "Poor me! I didn't get a perfect kid. I was willing to put up with a couple of weeks of inconvenience, but not two years!" Well, life doesn't work that way. When you sign up to be a parent, "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit" (as they used to say in my son's 1st grade classroom).

The first several months with Little Pickel were pure hell. He had night terrors that lasted 45 minutes to an hour every night (he still has these 2-3 times a week). We discovered double ear infections that resulted in ear tubes. We also discovered some creepy crawlers that made the trip home from Russia with us. They were NOT very welcome in our home.

Developmentally, he did not progress quickly. By his 3rd birthday he had only about 100 words and could not put phrases or sentences together. He was just beginning to run without looking like an otter (or falling all over himself) and he screamed at me every time he tried to ride his tricycle (because he was so frustrated).

OK. So you rip a two year old from the only home he's ever known. Talk to him in a language he doesn't understand. And then YOU get upset when he expresses displeasure the only way he knows how, by screaming. And don't forget to complain that a few bugs came home in your luggage, and that your prize son isn't quarterback material.

We tried everything for him. We rid him of his H Pylori (a bacterial infection in his gut), we removed his problem foods (gluten, casein, bananas, oats), and we worked diligently on his sensory issues. Still, he seemed locked in his own world...screaming uncontrollably when things were not right, when I would back up the car instead of go forward, or if he could not have graham crackers to ease his tummy aches.

He had orange stools up to 10 times a day, acid reflux, gas that could light the entire house on fire, sleep problems so severe he was getting close to (maybe) 5 hours of sleep a night, no social skills, aggressive behavior so severe that I had to learn to physically restrain him or get hurt myself (or worse, allow him to hurt himself), and bum rashes so horrid we resorted to Bag Balm, a cream used for milking cows.

Is there a style manual out there that sets out that in order to describe how horrible your life with your special needs kid is, you have to describe their bowel habits and how violent they are? Her son had some GERD and food sensitivities, as well as the aforementioned ear problems. So do tons of other kids. So what? There's also lots of other things that kids have. Things such as asthma, physical disabilities, learning disabilities and emotional problems. That's life. Deal with it.

So, when we moved back to Chicago in the summer of 2006 from Russia it was like a weight had been lifted. He qualified for Early Childhood, we found the Pfeiffer Treatment Center and started him on a vitamin chelation* to rid him of his heavy metals, yeast, and to balance his bacteria, and our parents were both there to help us with him.

Since our move Little Pickel has thrived. One might say he is "Finding the Words".

I have said many times on my blog, Discussing Autism, that there is no cure for Autism. Because Little Pickel's diagnosis is Institutional Autism and not organic autism, he can be "cured" and he can recover. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of thousands of children with autism who will not be cured.

Now this is why I'm writing this post. Pickel comes out and says that her "Little Pickel" didn't have autism as a result of being poisoned by vaccines (he had 'institutional autism', which is supposed to be caused by gross neglect and lack of physical stimulation, not by toxins of any sort), but she goes ahead and takes him to someone who treats him with the same hocus pocus that they would use to remove all of the "toxins" from him. What sort of "magical thinking" is going on here?Why would anyone (parent or practitioner) do that? I mean, unless you were so totally corrupt as a practitioner that you would try to sell your wares to someone when even your standard goofy arguments (your kids were poisoned by vaccines/heavy metals/whatever) cleary didn't apply. And at the same time you have parents that are clearly so dumb as to accept that even though the cause of your kid's autism is totally different, you'll still use the same goofy treatments.

However, there are some children like Little Pickel who have been cured...and they have Autism.

The documentary, "Finding the Words" is their story. It is the story of eight "perfect babies", each given a grim diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as toddlers, whose grieving families fight prejudice, misinformation, and despair to get their children well again.

Written and produced by Elizabeth Horn Nelson, the documentary has really picked up steam because there are parents out there like me who have hope. Horn Nelson is also the co-founder and president of the Autism Recovery Consortium and even the Huffington Post picks her up. You can view the trailer for the documentary here

I'm sorry, which is it, Pickel? That you can't cure autism, or that you can? I love it when people can't even keep their stories straight.

According to Nelson Horn in a 2005 interview, "The first impression you get with this diagnosis is that you're on your own,'' Horn said. "Even though there were resources, there was no sense of direction anyone could give as to how to proceed.''

For over a year that is how we felt with Little Pickel. Then, when we had no where else to turn we found The Pfeiffer Treatment Center and finally got our answers. They were the only facility willing to perform biomedical testing for us. You can read a very scientific explanation here.

How much is Little Pickel talking now that we did a vitamin chelation? So much so that there are times he won't shut up! (Perhaps he should try out for "Autism, the Musical!")

He is constantly chattering about going to school and how much he likes his new teacher. He sings "Twinkle-Twinkle" loud and out of key as he is falling asleep. He is finally asking questions (but everyone is labeled as a she).

And occasionally from across the room or from upstairs I hear him yell..."Marcie, come here!" in a sing-sing song voice.

Could you punish a kid for that?"

Perhaps this is why so many people fall for all of the hocus pocus "cures" that are out there. They are uncomfortable with uncertainty. They can't handle that no one can tell them a definite reason that there child is autistic, and worse, that they can't offer them a cure. So when hucksters come along with "magic pills" that will make their kids all better they jump at it. It's reassuring. It gives you hope. And when you go to the doctor's office you have a built in pity party support group, where you can all play the game of trying to top each other in the "My life is worse than yours" game.

The only problem is that it's all a big house of mirrors. And to waste large portions of your time and money on such things is at best silly, and at worst abusive to your child who is getting unneccessary and unproven treatments.

Shocking American Export

photo credit- J.Star

Why is it that it seems that only the worst of American culture is exported from its shores? It's no wonder to me that America and Americans are villified around the world, when it seems the best we can export are the likes of Britney Spears and Michael Jackson.

But it seems that we have sunken to a new low. I've touched before on the abominable treatment that goes on at the Judge Rotenberg center (JRC)in Massachusetts, where electric shocks and other tortures are used on autistics in order to "train" them not to misbehave.

Now it seems that it's not enough to have this shameful treatment here in the states. We have to try to drag the rest of the world down with us. An article that appeared this week on NineMSN out of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia looks at the electric shock treatment that's used at the Judge Rotenberg Center, and asks parents of Australian autistics if they think it's a viable treatment option.

For those unfamiliar with the electric shock treatments used at the JRC, for "clients" that are sent there by their parents, after a period of time where positive incentives fail to decrease undesired behaviors, electrodes are placed on the students (after obtaining parental and court approval) and the students are shocked whenever "bad" behavior is exhibited.

Dr. Matthew Israel, the instigator and chief proponent of the use of "negative aversives" at the JRC was interviewed for the Australian article.

"The real torture is what these children are subjected to if they don't have this program," said Dr Israel.

Autistic children in the program do not suffer any long-term side effects, according to Dr Israel.

"…it has absolutely no side effects and is extremely effective as a corrective procedure to encourage children not to show violent behaviour," he said.

"If it didn't hurt it wouldn't be effective. It has to hurt enough so that the student wants to avoid showing that behaviour again."

As one can plainly see, he is a very sensitive and sensible individual. I wonder how he would like to be hooked up to the device he routinely uses on children, and give them the control over whether to shock him or not. I'm sure he wouldn't suffer any side effects. People all over the world would consider this torture if prisoners at Guantanamo Bay were subjected to this. Why is it considered "treatment" when used on the developmentally disabled?

Fortunately the majority of Aussies interviewed for the article seem to be a sensible lot, and agree that such "treatment" is totally unsuitable and unjustified:

Queensland mum, Joy, who struggles to cope with her autistic son Jayden, thought she would try the new device for herself.

"Before trying this I was sitting on the fence and I wasn't sure if I was for or against it."

"After feeling the intensity of this, I'm totally opposed to the whole thing," she said.

Even in cases where there has been a history of repeated violent behavior, an Aussie dad could see that torture was not the answer:

Sydney dad, Jim, has had his teeth broken three times by daughter Molly and he was also willing to try this new technique.

His six-year-old daughter has a history of being violent and he was prepared to be open minded bout this treatment.

"It might seem cruel (the eclectic shock) but in the times where she's smashing her head against the concrete or doing physical harm, that's got to outweigh ( the pain) side of it," he said.

"Ow that hurt…it’s painful, very painful," said Jim, after we've given him a shock using Dr Israel's system.

Jim thinks the therapy would just torture Molly who would be in tears after being subjected to the controversial shock treatment.

The article concludes by interviewing an Australian autism expert, Dr. Jackie Roberts, who felt the shock treatments would only make things worse:

"Children with autism in particular have a very high level of fear and anxiety, and punishing them actually increases that fear," said Dr Roberts.

"…it's likely to make the behaviours worse," she said. "We do know that punishment has a short-term effect."

It would be a very sad world where no one recognized this "treatment" for the torture it is. I'm heartened to hear the voices of reason by our friends down under, and I can only hope that they don't think that all of us up here are as nuts as Dr. Israel.

Selective Outrage

While driving in to work today I heard a story on the radio regarding a special needs children's orphanage in Iraq that was recently raided. According to the story, a routine military patrol in Baghdad happened to look over a wall, and saw the following:

...Inside the building, a government-run orphanage for special needs children, the soldiers found emaciated little bodies tied to the cribs, CBS News reports exclusively. They had been kept this way for more than a month, according to the soldiers called in to rescue the dying boys. ...

..."The kids were tied up, naked, covered in their own waste — feces — and there were three people that were cooking themselves food, but nothing for the kids," Lt. Stephen Duperre said. ...

The tone of the article was one of shock and dismay. As if, in a country where its former leader would use nerve gas to kill his own citizens for the crime of being from a different tribe than he, we should be surprised that special needs kids are abused and left to die.

But, my overarching reaction was something more akin to "Hey, where've you been, CBS? You don't have to go to Iraq to see abuse of those who are in institutions." Perhaps you should look a little bit closer to home. For starters, you could look at how UNICEF has cataloged systemic abuse of children in institutions all across the world, including in the West.

One could also go to this web site to see stories from former patients in mental institutions in the US. Another place closer to home would be to read Amanda Baggs' list of ways institutionalized people are abused in institutions. Finally, abuse of autistics both in and out of institutions is cataloged by Joel Smith here.

I guess the bottom line is while I think people should be outraged at the treatment that these children were/weren't receiving, I think that CBS missed an opportunity (responsibility?) to also shed a little light on a lot of abuse that happens a lot closer to home, here in the US.

An Eye on School Safety

I am no fan of the rapidly rising rate of the use of closed circuit television cameras (CCTV cams) in public places for surveillance purposes. I agree with the ACLU that they are intrusive and don't generally accomplish what we are told that they will. I think that they contribute to the formation of a "nanny state" where those in power can abuse information gleaned from them. Not that I personally do any dastardly deeds in public, but I just don't want to be watched whenever I am walking around in public.

Great Britain has been a leader in installing CCTV cams in public places. Although still a bit controversial, for the most part citizens across the pond in the UK have embraced the concept of having public spaces actively surveilled by cameras.

Here in the US, what once was the province of only a few places (such as at bank teller stations) has now mushroomed not only in private establishments, but also in public places. This is probably due to many factors. One, certainly, is the decreasing cost of such video equipment. For about $500, one can get a camera and software to record fairly good quality video on your computer while you're away. Another reason is increased public uneasiness following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Video surveillance is sold to the public as a preventive measure against such attacks occurring again. Yet another reason is the role that video surveillance cameras have played in assisting in solving crime. Although there is not good data to back it up, there are an increasing number of abducted or attacked teens (and others) where video turns up on the news shows within 24 hours. Whether or not the video helps solve the crime, a voyeuristic public wants to see those same frames of video over and over and over again.

But there's another side of video cameras that's not altogether bad at all. The Rodney King case in California would not have gotten the press it did without the compelling video of King being beaten in the streets by the LA police. The rise of cameras being integrated into cell phones has also allowed us an insight into events that we might not have had otherwise. Michael Richards' outrageous tirade at a comedy club might have been a story buried in the paper for one day, but for the video that was caught on a cell phone which allowed Richards to hang himself with his own words.


Closer to the theme of this post, cell phone videos have shown teachers behaving badly, when they didn't know they were being recorded.

But what does any of this have to do with schools (and special ed classrooms in particular)? A lot, I think. I am sure that I in the minority opinion (especially if one surveyed teachers), but I think it would be an excellent idea to install passive video surveillance in all school classrooms and other areas where students gathered ("quiet rooms", resource rooms, gymnasiums, playgrounds, lunchrooms, etc.). By passive video surveillance, I mean that the video would be continuously recorded onto tape or hard drive, and be available for retrieval for a fixed period of time (say, 60-90 days). After that time it would be erased. Now, like the ACLU, I believe that such recordings open up the possibility for abuse, so I would have strict rules for how they could be used.

First of all, no one would view the tapes unless there was an "incident" that had occurred. Anytime any student got "written up" for a disciplinary infraction, or anytime anyone (police, parents, students, teachers) made any allegations of possible wrongdoings, a neutral investigator would be appointed (someone outside of the school) and all of the recorded material from that school for the day in question would be stored until the incident could be settled. The recordings would be availabe for all interested parties to watch. It would be the law that this was legal (so that the schools couldn't hide behind some false claim of privacy of other students).

Why do I think this is a good idea? Well, read Kristina Chew's blog entry from today, where 4 educators in a New York school are being charged with multiple cases of abusing disabled children. In a different context, Amanda Baggs has described what it's like to be institutionalized in what is considered a "good" situation.

Having such a system in place (passive surveillance kept confidential unless there was a dispute) would serve a number of different purposes. First of all, it would go a long way towards levelling the playing field in what is always a very unequal power relationship. School teachers and administrators wield a considerable amount of control and power over their students, and having a neutral observer in the classroom would be essential in many cases of showing what really occurred in a given situation. Secondly, when there is a pattern of neglect and not addressing educational goals that have been laid out and agreed to (in an IEP), video can be reviewed to see if this is actually the case or not.

Many (especially teachers) will recoil at this suggestion. But it's not as if this would be the first place where recordings of events when someone was working would take place. As I stated, in businesses all over, the employees as well as the customers are under surveillance. Police officers have become accustomed to having video cameras in their cars recording routine (and non-routine) traffic stops and car chases. Many officers have been glad to have these recordings to back their side of the story up when they have been accused. Emergency rooms have had such surveillance, and so have some operating rooms (theatres). There would certainly be a psychological period of adjustment on the part of teachers, but with the safeguards I have included, I do not think that this would be too great.

And we might just be able to weed out several bad apples in the process.