#stop the shock

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

US food & drug administration (FDA) proposing ban on electric shock devices (like ones used by places like judge rotenberg center [JRC]) for self injurious behaviors or behaviors deemed aggressive.

was banned before, then was overturned. now propose new ban.

can submit formal comment here:

which. if can, please do. show FDA that there public support for ban.

not see if say only US people can comment.

edit to add: open until may 28th 2024

put under cut, some trigger warning about badly summarized info abt these devices & JRC

readmore

these devices different from modern ECT. modern ECT done under general anesthesia. these devices. ECT not without faults but these devices not same as ECT.

while there truly are behaviors in disabilities like autism that genuine cause harm to self or others, 1) using this shock device for those behaviors without consent or try other methods or think about underlying why, still issue, 2) many times used for behaviors that. staff just don’t like. like saying no. or refuse take off coat.

there videos online.

but let just say. GED-4, used by JRC (at very minimum used, past tense. not sure what model use now, but definitely still used. & still being defended on JRC website), shock for 2 seconds, lowest setting, shock at 45mA, highest at 90. don’t know what means? me neither, but to compare, tasers 3-4 mA. n frequently see survivors say they get more than 1 shocks. people shocked by these scream. put it lightly

old stuff wrote by survivor:

often see people only talk abt autism when talk abt JRC & these devices. not just autism. those diagnosed w conduct disorders, psychiatric disorders, autism, intellectual disability, & imagine other developmental disorders too.

though. need lower support needs autistic people & late diagnose autistic people decenter themselves on this. you all not typical target demographic for this. you not most affected here.

because. going be early diagnosed & visibly disabled & higher support needs people most affected.

also. majority people in JRC BIPOC. one old statistic say 50% Black people.

majority of these. are children.

& most these ugly facts & statistics not going be on JRC website. they going make everything pretty & appealing & downplay. & defend use of shock device on website

had to look through JRC website for this. just for my sacrifice please go fill out comment for FDA. link again: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/26/2024-06037/banned-devices-proposal-to-ban-electrical-stimulation-devices-for-self-injurious-or-aggressive

[devinsturk]

A Manifesto for the Liberated Autistic

(written by one Autistic person!)

Communication is a human right!  We demand access to whatever form of communication we choose, including unconditional access to Augmented and Alternative Communication technologies.

We demand autonomy over our own bodies and rightful decision-making powers over our own lives as we see fit.

We demand freedom from police brutality and all forms of abuse, including seclusion and physical and chemical restraint in schools and hospitals, and we demand freedom from all forms of violence, including filicide.

We demand that the shameful Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts—and all other institutions like it—be shut down.  #StopTheShock

ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) is conversion therapy for autistics.  We demand freedom from all oppressive “interventions” or “treatments” and quack “cures” for Autism which seek to rob us of what—and who—we are.

We demand unsegregated access to an education alongside our peers.

We demand access to our own communities and our own cultures, and we demand access to knowledge of our people’s history!

We demand meaningful employment and an end to sub-minimum wage for all disabled people.

The way we move is political, and we demand freedom from all pressures to “behave” in accordance with neurotypical standards.  Embrace the stim!  

We must commit to cross-disability solidarity and cross-movement solidarity.

#ActuallyAutistic people are the REAL experts on Autism.

[thecorvidforest]

I need you all to know about the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts.

(Content warning for below the cut: ableism, electroshock torture of developmentally & intellectually disabled people, mention of death)

Two days ago (Sep. 7th, 2023), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a residential school called the Judge Rotenberg Center can continue to use electric shock devices called GEDs (graduated electronic decelerator) that are worn 24/7 to attempt to control the actions of developmentally & intellectually disabled people.

JRC calls itself an education & treatment school for “emotionally disturbed students with conduct, behavior, emotional, and/or psychiatric problems, as well as those with intellectual disabilities or on the autism spectrum” (according to their website). They have around 50 residences throughout Massachusetts. Their strategies center around restraint and punishment for unwanted behaviors. At least five deaths are attributed directly and indirectly to their treatments.

They say these electric shock devices, which are stronger than a police grade taser and are irrefutably shown to cause permanent mental & physical damage, are “life saving” and that they’re used on people “for whom all other treatment options have been tried and failed”.

Here’s a short list of things their “students” (who are placed there by their families and very likely have no choice in the matter, and are disproportionately Black/Brown/Indigenous) are shocked for:

hand flapping/stimming

standing up

sitting down

swearing

speaking

not fulfilling a simple task

any perceived disobedience

making noises because of their disability

making noises while being shocked (such as screaming or crying)

sitting in the "wrong" way

acting without permission

incontinence

More info on JRC here and on their history here (content warning: graphic & disturbing descriptions of ableism & torture in both links, death & suicide in the 2nd link).

This is just the latest piece of an ongoing battle to stop electric shock treatment on disabled people. In 2023 we are still not seen as human enough to be the victims of human rights violations.

Info on how you can help here. Disabled people have been trying to get eyes on this fight for decades. Please talk about it. Please don’t let this go unseen like it always does.

[lilyspectrum]

A taste of their own medicine!

Un goût de leur propre médecine!

[autisticsunmasked]

You are invited to attend a disability rights rally hosted by Lisa Jeanne Graf, candidate for Massachusetts’s 8th District State Rep. Saturday, July 27th from 1-4 pm #StopTheShock

[autisticadvocacy]

More of the JRC’s residents come from New York than any other state. Passing Andre’s Law could have a big impact on the center's ability to operate! New Yorkers, your state legislators need to hear from you - call today! 

[zeroar]

[autistpride]

The torture of disabled people is *still* legal in the US. And it’s still happening at the Judge Rotenburg Center in Massachusetts.

In 2010 the UN declared the devices torture!

In 2021 the DC circuit overturned the FDA ban to allow it to continue!

JRC uses this method of "punishment" alongside a reward room where children can spend points they earned by being good.

A common practice used in ABA.

Children as young as 3 years old attend this school and the students wear electrodes up to 24 hrs a day 7 days a week to receive "correction". This is a boarding school, students do not go home. They live at the school recieving this treatment everyday with chances of visits for good behaviour.

The UN has even reported the school as abusive and appealed to the US government to have this practice stopped.

Apparently the DC circuits claimed it's abusive but for a good purpose and that the devices are banned for general use but totally fine for one single purpose... this one.

But of course these would be illegal on criminals or in military use to extract information that could be "for a good purpose" because it's abusive and violates all sorts of laws.... but apparently not when the person is a vulnerable autistic or disabled person.

One parent sent their child to the school because he wouldn't allow physical contact in the form of hugs and would bite his arms. The child is now a young man of 24 and still lives at the school with occasional visits from his parents.

This is the most absolutely ridiculous thing to electrocute someone for and even more if the person needs 10+ years of their program and still has not graduated that should be proof it's not effective.

“The first shock was in my leg. It was a stinging, ripping, and pulling pain that froze time. I was standing when it happened, and I immediately fell because I lost control of my leg. It hurt, but didn’t really register with me. I wasn’t afraid yet.”

–

“I no longer had my meds, and I would get this itchy feeling, like a hundred ants under my skin. I would fight it, but then I would get a tingle down my spine, and then I would become terrified because I knew what was coming. My hands would get cold and shake. Then the burst would come. Like slamming my head on the desk over and over until the shock came. After that would be a strange feeling of calm and peace — because it was over with. I released the impulse and had gotten the coinciding shock.”

–

“Some actual behaviors I was shocked for were: covering my eyes with my hands, covering (pressurizing) my ears, tic-like body movements, wrapping my foot around the leg of my chair, not answering staff within 5 seconds, saying the word “no”, shaking my head, tightening my fingers for more than 2 seconds, waving my hands in front of my face, 5 verbal behaviors in an hour (talk to self, repeating, crying, bizarre speech, nagging), tensing up, getting out of my seat without permission, not following directions, and attempt to remove restraints.”

–

“The video of Andre McCollins being shocked on the board tells the story. It is absolutely terrifying. The anticipation and the helplessness of being tied down and not knowing when another shock is coming. And that was the point, to add more fear to the shock. I had this done to me many times. Only sick, sick people can think this is ok.”

–

“It’s so scary. I would ask God to make my heart stop because I didn’t want to live when that was happening to me. I just wanted to die and make it stop,” [Jennifer Msumba] told CBS News correspondent Anna Werner in an interview at her mother’s home outside Boston. “I thought, they won’t be able to hurt me anymore.”

–

“They grabbed my arms and walked me over to the board. Told me to sit then lie down and started locking me in. I was begging, pleading that I didn’t do anything and could they explain what I did. Nothing. I didn’t fight, I just shook. My limbs went cold with fear, knowing what was coming and having to wait for it. She went outside the door and closed it most of the way so I couldn’t see her. All I could do was breath in shudders and kick my one leg that was looser then the other. Then she shocked me out of nowhere. And said “there is no hurting yourself”. One down, 4 to go. When they do this, time stops and everything around me would turn into a nightmarish cloud. I would just beg in my mind for them to hurry up and do it. But the whole point is to MAKE you anticipate. To fear, to suffer. Not knowing when it’s coming. The shit is so sick and twisted, it should be in a movie. They put this show and tell on that they care, but this is what REALLY happens. This is what really fucking happens. After about 10 minutes of agonizing mental and physical torture and 5 shocks later, they took me off the board.”

[deltajuli]

im not disabled, but i think this is really important to share, so please reblog

[disposabletapedispenser]

tw: torture, ableism

https://chng.it/y79PV2cfkMif you do not want to read about the following potentially triggering topics, please skip past this post. take care of yourselves. 

hi, tumblr. this isn’t a happy topic, and i’m literally shaking while writing this. i am autistic and neurodivergent, and this has shaken me to my core. it is still legal to torture disabled people in the united states in order to modify “unwanted” behaviors linked to disobedience or disability. 

the judge rotenberg center uses electric shock to cruelly punish the following, and more, behaviors.

-stimming or unwanted movements and noises linked to disability

-standing up from a chair

-going to the bathroom in clothing after being denied the right to use the bathroom

-not taking off a sweater

-screaming in pain during shocking

the ged (graduated electronic decelerator) is a torture device. shock therapy has been classed as torture in the uk. it is being used against disabled people and children. the side effects of the torture include third degree burns, ptsd, and more. some people were first shocked before ten years old. 

THIS HAS TO FUCKING STOP. the violent dehumanization and abuse of people with disabilities is revolting and needs to be ended immediately. 

https://chng.it/y79PV2cfkM

https://autisticadvocacy.org/stoptheshock/

(warning: this has clips of electric shock torture in which a teenage patient screams in pain. viewer discretion advised) https://youtu.be/BxtZXUheQ8E

https://nymag.com/news/features/andre-mccollins-rotenberg-center-2012-9/

[justletmeon12]

Important Info for People in NYC

[chloesimaginationthings]

Michael learns of Jeff’s pizza from FNAF Into the pit

[shepscapades]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [PART 3]

Xbralis as the first canon dbhc pairing with the steel chair!

[beif0ngs]

It looks like they fell asleep.

[pomarrillo]

thought id pick up fe3h again after 4 years! blue lions this time 😁 and then church route next if i dont get burnt out by then

[throwingbread]

In the Year 2024 and we're still electrocuting children.

ASAN and other disability organizations have been working to #StopTheShock at the Judge Rotenberg Center for over ten years! We are STILL WAITING for the FDA to release a new proposed rule since clearly being given the power to do so in 2022. Here’s a timeline of important events in #StopTheShock history. 

2014 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a big meeting. They invited lots of people. They invited autistic self-advocates. They also invited the JRC itself. The FDA listened to everyone at the meeting. Then, the FDA decided the electric shock devices were too dangerous to use. 

2016 - The FDA made a proposed rule that would ban the electric shock devices. The government asked for public comments on the proposed rule. Lots of people commented on the rule about the electric shock devices. 

2020 - The FDA issued the rule that banned electric shock devices. But the JRC did not start to follow the rule. Instead, the JRC sued the FDA so they could keep hurting people with disabilities. The JRC took their lawsuit to the DC Circuit Court.

2021 - The DC Circuit Court got rid of the rule. They said that the FDA could not ban the device. That means the JRC can keep using the electric shock devices. 

2022 - Every year, Congress makes new laws to figure out how to spend money. These are called omnibus bills. ASAN and the disability community advocated for a new rule to get put in the 2022 omnibus bill. This new rule gave the FDA the power to ban the electric shock device. 

NOW - We are waiting for the FDA to release a proposed rule banning electric skin shock devices. There is no reason for further delay. As soon as the proposed rule comes out, we need EVERYONE to write a public comment urging the FDA to ban electric skin shock devices. Stay tuned for more information on how to write and submit your comment once the proposed rule is released!