Legal, institutionalized torture of the disabled and neurodivergent in Massachusetts

[aziraphale]

In Massachusetts, there is state-sanctioned and fully legal abuse on autistic spectrum, developmentally disabled and behaviorally problematic people, mostly teens and children. The Judge Rotenberg Center, originally used for severe autism but now used for a variety of disabilities and neurodivergencies, uses painful electric shocks on their patients for pretty much any misbehavior, ranging from self injury to violence to swearing to not focusing on their work. They also use restraints as punishment. If you want perspective, I have mild autism, known as Asperger's, and when I was younger I would scream and cry when people tried to hug me. Hugs provoked this reaction in a mild case. Imagine how a child who is low functioning feels when they are restrained. Previously they used spanking with a spatula and forced inhaling of ammonia fumes but patients got used to that too fast. Some people have died there. This is all completely legal, open and state-sanctioned. They do not need to get a court order in order to impose this on someone. I'd post a link but I can't do it until I have more posts. You can find an abuse report on the Aspies for Freedom Forums and more information in Mother Jones.

[cska]

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/02/school-shock-under-federal-investigation

http://boston.com/news/daily/15/school_report.pdf

http://www.petitiononline.com/NYs6876/petition.html

:blink: :crying: What the hell? The people who do this need to be thrown in a mental hospital.

By the way for the mods, should this be in the discrimination forum or in politics? Cause this goes way beyond your everyday discrimination.

[gorillafuck]

Holy christ....

What is being done about this?

[scarletghoul]

Fucking hell, this is disgusting. Yeah whats being done about it ? Anything any of us can do ??

[Demogorgon]

That sort of thing was supposed to have been banned as unethical by medical associations years ago. Electro-shock treatment is supposed to be used only rarely and done under anesthetic (in certain special cases, carefully applying electric shocks to an anesthetised patient can provide relief from extreme depression or psychosis), I find it flabbergasting that stuff like this is still done.

[TheSultan]

To say this is obscene would be a grave understatement. How is this being allowed to happen?

[A.R.Amistad]

What are the children's parents doing about it?

[REVLEFT'S BIEGGST MATSER TROL]

Jesus Christ this is outragously disgusting

[Chambered Word]

I heard about this. My mother reckons she rang up Amnesty International about it and they just avoided the question. The whole thing is repulsive. It'd be pretty cool if someone went there and just broke everyone outta there and then torched the place.

[Foldered]

That's just ridiculous. That sort of medical behaviour should have been outlawed ages ago. This sounds like treatments from hundreds of years ago; disgusting.

[Decolonize The Left]

By the way for the mods, should this be in the discrimination forum or in politics? Cause this goes way beyond your everyday discrimination.

This ought to remain in discrimination as there is a specific group of people being targeted rather than a political party/organization. Terribly sad/enraging topic...

- August

[Bad Grrrl Agro]

I'm involved in a group that targets the behavior modification industry since I have PTSD due to what happened to me when I was shipped out to Idaho.

check out:
www.heal-online.org

[Lenina Rosenweg]

I haven't read the recent articles yet but I know the Judge Rotenberg Center has long had a horrible reputation.Its officially a center for treating "emotionally disturbed" or neurodivergent children and adolescents. They have an extremely high turnover of staff. Pay is 9$/hour, no benefits.Most people leave after 2 or 3 months. Every few years there's a scandal. About 3 years ago it came out that they almost routinely use tasering on their inmates, a practice encouraged by the administration.There are articles on this in the Boston Globe.

I'm not sure why the place has been allowed to remain open. It seems to be that they are politically well connected and they provide cheap warehousing services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

I'm ashamed to say this, but I applied for a job there once, a long time ago. I was told about the low pay but it was hinted that if I have half a brain and stick with it I could be promoted rapidly. I was offered the job but friends told me about JR's dodgy reputation and I got a job elsewhere.