(Trigger warning for abuse, electroshock therapy, torture, and ableism.)
The US court has overturned the ban on shock devices being used against disabled students, predominantly autistic students in the US.
The shock device being legalized is called the graduated electronic decelerator (or GED). This is a torture device that is used to ‘correct’ autistic behaviors / symptoms. Autistic people are shocked for stimming, and for having meltdowns, ect. This device was made popular by a behavioral center (the Judge Rosenberg Center, specifically) that is infamous for its abuse and torture of autistic / disabled patients.
(Image ID: someone is holding their arm out and resting it on a table, with their sleeve rolled up. Attached to their arm are wires, which connect to a small cube device.)
This is what the device looks like. It sends electric shocks into the victim’s skin; the victim often being restrained and held against their will. This is torture. GEDs have been reported to cause intense psychological trauma, PTSD, and physical injuries.
In March of 2020, the FDA ruled for GEDs to be banned. (Although, of course, they were still illegally used at a number of places.) This ruling has recently been appealed, and today, the US court of appeals has re-regulated the law to stop the use of GED. Sounds great, right? It would be!
… If not for a huge loophole in the wording, which basically allows this torture to continue. This device is going to have continued use on autistic students in order to “correct their behavior.”
“So…. What can I do??”
Great question! You can:
Listen to and boost autistic voices to spread awareness
As-of now (July 7th), autistic activists are trying to get #StopTheShock trending on Twitter, so Tweet out the hashtag if you have Twitter
If you’re in the US, email / call your legislators
For my fellow New Yorkers (and everyone else who knows a New Yorker
State Senate Bill S8935, also known as Andre’s Law, will prohibit state education funds from being used to send disabled New Yorkers to out of state facilities that use adverse conditioning (think JRC). These practices have been illegal in New York since 2005 but for some reason, there was a loophole. This bill will close that loophole.
Think about this, New York State has spent $100 million over the past decade to send students to places like JRC. I wouldn’t be surprised if a sizable portion of JRC’s funds come from New York. This can be a significant step to get JRC shut down for good.
If you are a New Yorker, you can fill out the form in the link below, which will send a message to your state senator about how important passing S8935 is to our community. Or you can call them. We may need to contact them again since the current legislative session ends June 2nd. If we can get it passed in at least the Senate by June 2nd, half the battle will be done.
Also contact Senators Akshar, Brooks, Cleare, Felder, Mannion, Martucci, and Persaud. They’re the ones on the disabilities senate committee. We need this out of committee and presented to the senate as quickly as possible.
The Assembly hasn’t picked up Andre’s Law yet as a bill, but feel free to contact your assembly person as well. The Assembly is looking to pass a package of bills that will help disabled New Yorkers. Tell them to add S8935 to that list.
The Assembly and Senate are focused on disability legislation at the moment. It’s the perfect time to push for this bill to be passed.
If you want to help the #StopTheShock campaign and end the torture of disabled people at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, MA, this is how. If you are in the US you can now sign an open letter to US Congress by following the link below. The letter calls for an amendment to the Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA) which would prohibit the use of aversives on disabled students, including the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED) which is the device used at the JRC to administer painful electric shocks for behaviours such as talking out of turn, stimming or even for taking too long to remove a coat.
Once you follow the link it’s as simple as sending a text to the number shown. You can also print the page with the QR code and put it up on bulletin boards to raise awareness!
If you are not living in the US there are other ways to help, see this previous post, the AuTeach website and the rest of this blog for details. Share this message far and wide, and hopefully we can make a difference to the students at the JRC. Thank you.
This blog will be dedicated to the #StopTheShock campaign and will include survivors’ stories and action points to help fight this decision and stop the torture of autistic people.
For a current list of action points, head over to the AuTeach website.PLEASE REBLOG and spread the word, even if you are not autistic, and follow this blog for updates.
Just to clear up some misconceptions I have seen elsewhere: This is not the same as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This is a device called a graduated electronic decelerator (GED) worn on the ankle which is used to administer remote electric shocks as a form of corporal punishment.
There is a group of people who are fighting a legal battle to be allowed to shock disabled children simply for displaying traits related to their disability. And they are winning.
This is a clear violation of human rights. Hell, we don’t even use shock collars on dogs because of its cruelty, yet these people want to use this on human beings.
Stop the shock!
I’m angry that we live in a world where I actually need to say this
OH COME FUCKING ON! JEEZ! SOMETIMES I WONDER IF PEOPLE ON THE SPECTRUM ARE EVEN CONSIDERED PEOPLE TO LAW PEOPLE! I mean look at Austism speaks! Their still legally running AND THEY KILLED A KID!
No, the students at the Judge Rotenberg Center are most certainly not considered people. They are considered subhuman because they are disabled and because the vast majority of them are children of colour. They are considered as nothing more than a list of “problematic” behaviours and I cannot emphasise enough that this is not unique to the JRC, although it is an extreme place even by ABA standards.
Six students have died at the JRC. Food deprivation, physical restraint and seclusion are all commonplace there, and indeed are written directly into students’ care plans.
I would strongly encourage you to seek out Jennifer Msumba’s interviews, she is a survivor of the JRC and I have linked some on this blog.
It is not a place that humans should be sent to. But they are.
This blog will be dedicated to the #StopTheShock campaign and will include survivors’ stories and action points to help fight this decision and stop the torture of autistic people.
For a current list of action points, head over to the AuTeach website.PLEASE REBLOG and spread the word, even if you are not autistic, and follow this blog for updates.
Just to clear up some misconceptions I have seen elsewhere: This is not the same as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This is a device called a graduated electronic decelerator (GED) worn on the ankle which is used to administer remote electric shocks as a form of corporal punishment.
There is a group of people who are fighting a legal battle to be allowed to shock disabled children simply for displaying traits related to their disability. And they are winning.
This is an image drawn by Jennifer Msumba, a patient at the Judge Rotenberg Centre. A literal child.
A child like Andre McCollins who was restrained on a 4 point board and shocked 31 times over seven hours. His supposed crimes that justified this abuse? Refusal to take his coat off. Then tensing up and screaming when he was shocked. He required hospitalisation for the 3rd degree burns on multiple body parts he received from the ordeal.
This is torture. The UN calls it torture. The only reason the ban is getting overturned is because of a loophole exploiting lawsuit from the Judge Rotenberg Centre. The GED was initially banned for use as a behaviour modification device. According to the lawsuit the FDA does not have the power to ban a device for a specific use so either has to ban the GED outright or let the JRC continue as they please.
Michael Israel, the founder of the JRC and inventor of the GED, has stated
“ [The GED] could be used everywhere… It could and should be used—not as a last resort, because it has no side effects. I think it should be used in the schools. Prisons have the problem that people see that as coercion. But if it works here, why shouldn’t it be used elsewhere? “
So not only does he not see disabled kids as human, he wants to torture them more globally for minor infractions so he can profit.
TheJudge Rotenberg Center is a special needs day and residential school located in Canton, Massachusetts which accepts ages 5 to adult.
They use behaviour modification to control their residents such as Applied Behaviour Analysis. But in some cases, they also use extreme and torturous forms of punishment such as prolonged restraint, food deprivation and electric shocks.
Theskin shock is not to be confused with ECT, which is done for very different reasons and also under anesthesia, so that the person doesn’t feel any pain.
No, Electric Skin Shock, also known as the Graduated Electronic Decelerator, is MEANT TO CAUSE SEVERE PAIN in order to punish undesired behaviours in actual children and adults.
This is Jennifer Msumba’s story of how she escaped the Judge Rotenberg Center. If you have 14 minutes to spare, please watch this video (or save it to come back to it when you have time).
She describes what her life was like at the JRC and what it felt like to be shocked by one of these devices. She was under court-appointed guardianship so her parents had no say in where she stayed or what therapy she underwent.
After her first escape attempt, she was secluded for two months and kept in restraints in a cold isolation room. Her home visits had already been taken away from her and if staff members heard her say anything negative about the JRC on the phone to her mom, the call would be terminated instantly.
This is what the #StopTheShock campaign is really about.
I have no idea if any of you are aware of this currently, but the Canton School of Disabled Students in Massachusetts has just recently appealed to allow shock therapy as a form of “behavioral correction” by the Federal Court. The device they have appealed to the court is called, the GED (Graduated Electronic Decelerator) a device that is more painful than a taser and has been known to cause psychological trauma and third-degree burns. They deem this device as necessary to prevent bodily harm and death, but this device has been used in conjunction with other atrocious practices that have been condemned by the United Nations since 1971, such as physical abuse, essential deprivation of foods and liquids, isolation, and causing the death of five of their students.
Here are some news organizations that have covered this subject, autistic advocates who are raising awareness of the subject, and documented footage of the device in action. In addition, I have also linked several petitions, letter templates, and contacts for those of you who would be willing to do so:
If you are unsure how to help, or executive dysfunction is getting in the way, TikTok user @/virydeansea has put together a step-by-step guide to the current action points listed on auteach.com which are also listed below (slightly modified for tumblr to include links).
1.Google auteach or follow this link to auteach.com
2.Scroll down on the homepage and click the purple Help Nowbutton.
3. In a separate tab, open up your email.
4. Create new draft.
5. In the new draft, copy and paste the provided script.
6.Edit the script with some personal notes. (Basically just tell them why you decided to help! What does this mean to you personally?)
7.Choose an organisation to address the email to (full list at the bottom of the Help Now page).
8.Edit the script to contain the name of the organisation/people in power.
9. Give your email a subject. (URGENT: Stop the Shock).
10.Hit Send.
If you have made it this far, thank you. Please also remember that the Judge Rotenberg Center disproportionately holds children of colour, so this is very much a racial issue as well as a disability rights issue. We cannot allow inhumane torture devices to be banned only to decide to make an exception just for disabled children of colour, especially during Disability Pride Month.
Like, reblog, spread the word, and most importantly please make sure to follow through with sending these emails. This fight has been ongoing for years and we need your support.
Wondering what to do next to help the #StopTheShock movement? AuTeach is hosting a live event for Stop the Shock on Facebook and YouTube, with guests Lydia X. Z. Brown & Shain Neumeier on July 11th, 2021 at 12pm PST.
For details please see the details on the AuTeach website which will take you to the Facebook or YouTube page, where you can subscribe and set an automatic reminder for the event. (If, like me, time zones give you a headache, Facebook and YouTube will convert them for you).
Secretary of Health and Human Services under Biden is now Xavier Becerra. His twitter is SecBecerra.
His email is the same: Secretary @ hhs . gov
Acting Commissioner of FDA is now Janet Woodcock. Her twitter is DrWoodcockFDA.
This linked article has more info on the Judge Rottenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts, which is using electric shock cuffs to 'regulate’ unwanted behavior (such as stimming) in disabled children and adults.
This blog will be dedicated to the #StopTheShock campaign and will include survivors’ stories and action points to help fight this decision and stop the torture of autistic people.
For a current list of action points, head over to the AuTeach website.PLEASE REBLOG and spread the word, even if you are not autistic, and follow this blog for updates.
Just to clear up some misconceptions I have seen elsewhere: This is not the same as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This is a device called a graduated electronic decelerator (GED) worn on the ankle which is used to administer remote electric shocks as a form of corporal punishment.
There is a group of people who are fighting a legal battle to be allowed to shock disabled children simply for displaying traits related to their disability. And they are winning.
This blog will be dedicated to the #StopTheShock campaign and will include survivors’ stories and action points to help fight this decision and stop the torture of autistic people.
For a current list of action points, head over to the AuTeach website.PLEASE REBLOG and spread the word, even if you are not autistic, and follow this blog for updates.
So earlier today, a court ruling dismissed a regulation that would have banned a GED, a shock device used to punish autistic/disabled people’s ND behaviors. This device has caused many autistic people psychological and mental/emotional trauma and we need your help to stop this. This isn’t just activism, this is basic human rights on the line. More info below:
What you can do to help is to fill out this form below against the use of the GED or any other kind of torture device used on disabled people. As an autistic woman, I am practically begging you to take action with me. (Please note this can only be filled out by US citizens!!!!!)
