I have been writing about the Center since 2006. It is "a special needs day and residential school located in Canton, Massachusetts licensed to serve ages five through adult". It features “aversive” therapy, using pain or other negative stimuli to change behavior; the pain is generated by electric shock. The Center has been charged by a number of government agencies, including the UN, of torturing children. The latest charge is from the FDA, which has accused the Center of under-reporting adverse effects from the device used, using flawed studies to defend its approach, and misleading families about alternative treatments. “FDA has determined that these devices present an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury that cannot be corrected or eliminated by labeling".
The Rotenberg Center is the only place in the country to still employ such a device, which delivers a painful shock to residents’ skin when they engage in undesirable or dangerous behaviors. Currently, 56 of the center’s 251 residents can receive the shocks. Further, children have been tied down with leg and waist straps to punish them.
The FDA asserts that the devices can cause both physical and psychological harm, including risks of pain, burns, tissue damage, depression, fear and aggression. They may even have led a resident to enter a catatonic state, the agency said. The shocks can worsen the symptoms it purportedly treats. The FDA said peer-reviewed studies and experts make it clear that aversives have been largely replaced by more effective — and humane — approaches to managing behavior.
No comments:
Post a Comment