Hearing About Restraints and Seclusion Today

Today at 10am (EDT) is a live webcast of hearings on the "abusive and deadly use of seclusion and restraint in schools." The hearings are being held by the Education and Labor Committee in the House of Representatives. Witnesses who will be speaking include Ann Gaydos, whose daughter, Paige, who's on the autism spectrum, was put into a face-down prone restraint by a teacher in Cupertino, California, in 2001, and Toni Price, whose 14-year-old son, Cedric, was suffocated in 2002 by his teacher in a middle school in Killeen, Texas, "'after she placed him in a 'therapeutic floor hold' to keep him from struggling during a disagreement over lunch."

Yesterday's USA Today has more about what happened to Cedric and to Paige, who now lives in Colorado and who, in the words of her mother "'....came out of there very listless, kind of discouraged, kind of cynical." Paige's parents sued the Cupertino School District and were awarded $700,000 by a federal jury (they settled for $260,000 to avoid an appeal). And, in Atlanta, yesterday's 11Alive.com reported that a judge ruled that 11-year-old Stefan Ferrari, who is on the autism spectrum and non-verbal, was physically and verbally abused by teachers at the Marshall School in DeKalb County, in October of 2008.

As also noted in USA Today:

A few experts say restraint and seclusion should be a teacher's last line of defense against upset or unruly kids, but that the techniques can be effective when used properly.

Bill East, executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, says they should be allowed "in those rare instances when school-based positive behavioral support has not worked."

But five states now ban prone restraint, which caused Cedric's death. The disability-rights network last January called on the Obama administration to ban it — or any other restraint that can suffocate a child — except when the immediate physical safety of students or staff is jeopardized.

I recently posted on the perils of restraints, which should not be used without parents giving consent. The procedures should be spelled out in a Behavior Intervention Plan that is part of a child's IEP, as should the circumstances when they would be used. Parents should be informed in writing by the school district after restraints are used. And, teachers should also have plans for how to teach a child communication, relaxation or other skills so that things do not get to the point when restraints would need to be used.

Take action and just say no to seclusion and restraints.

Photo of Cedric Napolean from USA Today.