The following is a press release from TASH regarding the passage today of the Restraint Bill H.R. 4247 which now goes to the Senate where hopefully it will be taken up in a timely way.
The following is a press release from TASH regarding the passage today of the Restraint Bill H.R. 4247 which now goes to the Senate where hopefully it will be taken up in a timely way.
Posted at 04:20 PM in Behaviors | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 10:06 PM in Behaviors | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Continue reading "TASH Call-In Needed to Support Restraint and Timeout Bill on February 26,2010" »
Posted at 10:38 PM in Behaviors, Parent Advocacy | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The House bill H.R. 4247 regulating restraint and seclusion in schools successfully passed out of committee today. There are a lot of additional hurdles with the full House yet to vote on the bill, and ultimately conference committee to reconcile the bill with a Senate version. In this process there are many interests that would like to kill or weaken this bill, so we must keep those calls and emails coming to your respective Congressperson. It may seem odd that schools and other lobby groups could array themselves against a clear effort to protect children from harm in school. However, schools view this issue as a matter of law and order, discipline in school and being able to have complete autonomy. Those concerns are the standard arguments which are used to rebut any form of regulation or perceived expansion of parents' rights, in this instance these "concerns" must give way. The objective data has demonstrated the pervasive harm that children have suffered from inappropriate restraint and seclusion. This bill is a key piece of legislation that needs to be passed this term.
Below is a summary of the bill from the House EdLabor committee's website .
Continue reading "Restraint and Seclusion Bill H.R. 4247 Passes First Hurdle" »
Posted at 12:01 AM in Behaviors, In the News, School Policies | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: restraint, safety, school safety, seclusion, special needs
Physical restraint and overuse of timeout have had very damaging effects for a number of my clients. Some students report nightmares, suffer school phobia and refuse to attend school, and for too many any chance of an inclusive education becomes impossible, with the only choice being an out of home school placement. I have fortunately not had any of my clients die as a result of inappropriate restraint, but one child came within a hour of dying from hypothermia after leaving school and becoming lost in cold weather. This near lethal episode occurred following several episodes of physical restraint by staff that had no training or experience in the proper means of intervention.
There has been a lot of attention paid to the need for more stringent laws at the state level dealing with restraint, but according to a recent study states have not acted, according to Disability Scoop:
"Nonetheless, 39 percent of states continue to have no laws or policies guiding restraint and seclusion practices in schools, according to a follow-up report issued by the National Disability Rights Network Tuesday. (Read all of Disability Scoop’s coverage of restraint and seclusion >>
Fortunately Congress is in the final stages of a bill to regulate physical restraint and other behavioral interventions. Given the reluctance of states to act Federal legislation is obviously necessary. We need legislation also because Arne Duncan has been dragging his feet and not providing any effective leadership on this issue, On February 24, 2010, the committee considering H.R. 4247 is set to be marked up so this is a critical time to call and email in support of this critical legislation. Jessica Butler, an attorney and COPAA officer, has written a thorough analysis of this bill.
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Continue reading "Autism and Elopement Behaviors by Nicole Jorwic" »
Posted at 11:39 AM in Autism, Behaviors, Tip of the Month | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 02:50 AM in Autism, Behaviors, IDEA 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Ron Huberman, the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, has unveiled a plan [Download Students_At_Risk pdf]to address violence in and around schools in the wake of the tragic killing of Derrion Albert, a Chicago Public School student, who is the latest victim of violence that was captured on video and posted online. The plan is based upon statistics that reveal the killings and violence are not totally random. The data shows that the students at highest risk of violence are:
" most likely black,male, without a stable living environment, in special education,skipping an average of 42 percent of school days at neighborhood and alternative schools, and having a record of in-school behavioral flare-ups that is about eight times higher than the average."
The new model is also leading to a rethinking of the security policy to favor mental health interventions and prevention over policing and punishment. To me the sum total of this model reveals that suspensions, expulsions are simple and summary answers to deep-seated and complex mental health, learning and economic problems. This model is not the first time that the City has studied this issue of school violence. Perhaps the very public death of Derrion Albert will actually lead to more thoughtful data-driven actions that will start to make a difference.
Thank to my cousin Mark Mlawer for bringing this NYTimes article to my attention.
Posted at 12:33 AM in Behaviors, In the News | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
A recently published report addresses a new approach to teenage suicide attempts. The report is summarized as follows:
"A novel psychotherapy used in the study—cognitive behavioral therapy for suicide prevention (CBT-SP—was developed to address the need for a specific psychotherapy that would prevent or reduce the risk for suicide reattempts among teens. CBT-SP consisted of a 12-week acute treatment phase focusing on safety planning, understanding the circumstances and vulnerabilities that lead to suicidal behavior, and building life skills to prevent a reattempt. A maintenance continuation phase followed the acute phase."
The preliminary findings of this report, although based upon a small sample, show real effectiveness in address this pressing issue. I hope school social worker and psychologists will review the findings and take stock of the need for intensive therapy to addresses the lethal risks.
This past year I have had at least double the number of teen clients who have had severe mental health issues and many of them at risk of suicide. The response from the schools has varied from total denial of the issue, to avoidance of the issue, or claiming it was merely a family issue having nothing to do with the educational needs of the child. I had one school social worker claim that the student was not hearing voices since he had never seen him conversing to someone who was not there. When asked if he had actually asked the student the basic question "are you hearing voices" he finally admitted that he had not, but claimed there was no basis to ask the question since he never observed anything unusual making the whole discussion quite circular. He persisted in this argument despite the fact that parents had emailed and report their child's unusual behavior to the social worker.
The unfortunate fact is that the risks of suicide for teens are real and apparently increasing. School personnel need to be vigilant and mindful when parents report aberrant behaviors, depressive patterns and other risk factors.
Posted at 04:51 AM in Behaviors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The following is a speech given to a local autism support group. The speech is from the parents of a young adult who was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum in his late 20s, after his time in school had passed, and as discussed below well too late to prevent tragic consequences. I publish this with the permission of the parents of this young adult with the hope that their pain may spare others the same tragedy. There are many lessons to be learned from this story: keep a close eye on your student's use of the internet, social development is often more important than academic, transition planning for self-sufficient and safe outcome can not be emphasized enough, and sex education that is meaningful for students with special needs is even more important than for other students.
Continue reading "Painful Failure of the Special Education System" »
Posted at 10:53 PM in Autism, Behaviors, Transition | Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: Autism, pornography