Restraint and seclusion are crisis management strategies that are used in many schools across the nation and the world. Physical Restraint, is exactly what it sounds like, it is a personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move his or her torso, arms, legs or head freely. Seclusion is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. These interventions are dangerous and have led to serious injuries and even death in students, teachers and staff.
According to federal guidance restraint and/or seclusion should never be used except in situations where a child’s behavior poses an imminent danger of serious physical harm to self or others, and restraint and seclusion should be avoided to the greatest extent possible without endangering the safety of students and staff. The important wording here is “serious physical harm”, these measures are not intended merely for unsafe situations, but rather to situations that could result in death or serious bodily injury. As such based on federal guidance restraint and seclusion should be exceedingly rare. However, it has been found that restraint and seclusion are occurring far more frequently in schools across the nation and are not always limited to situations that involve imminent serious physical harm.
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The memories will haunt me
I have been on multiple adolescent inpatient psychiatric units and, as a result, have seen the use of seclusion and restraint. I will forever live with the memories of seeing people restrained on the restraint bed and in the seclusion room. Those memories will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life. While I was inpatient, the staff (thankfully) used it correctly when a patient was at risk of serious injury or death to themselves or others.
Virtual Training Event: Restraint and Seclusion – Why now is the time to do something different
Is your facility still using restraint and seclusion? In this virtual full-day event, learn why now is the time to do something different. About this event Thank you for your interest in this event. Below you will find information about the event, and you are always welcome to reach out with any questions. Background Restraint is … Continue reading Virtual Training Event: Restraint and Seclusion – Why now is the time to do something different
An Avoidable Crisis: The Keeping All Students Safe Act (Part 3)
Today’s guest author is Jennifer Abbanat. Jennifer is a wife and mom to three kids ages 18, 16, and 13. Jennifer is an advocate and voice for her neurodivergent children. She and her family live in Northern California. One shift in our mindset can mean the difference in appropriately meeting a child’s needs or potential … Continue reading An Avoidable Crisis: The Keeping All Students Safe Act (Part 3)
An Avoidable Crisis: The Unlucky Ones (Part 2)
Dr. Ross Greene refers to kids with “lucky behaviors” and those with” unlucky behaviors.” Kids with lucky behaviors are often more capable of “using words” to describe their feelings. These kids often pout, cry, whine, withdraw, and these lucky behaviors usually get them empathy from the caregiver. This is why they are thought of as “lucky behaviors.” These behaviors do not get a child put in time out, spanked, hit, yelled at, recess taken away, punished, isolated, and worse, restrained by an adult. They have lucky ways of communicating that move the adult to empathize and bring a sense of connection and compassion to the child. This child gets soft eyes and hugs when they behave this way. The adult wants to comfort them to ease their distress.
An Avoidable Crisis: The Focus on Compliance (Part 1)
We hear from so many parents, caregivers, and teachers how “out of control” so many kids they work with are. They describe them as rude, disrespectful, disruptive, always touching things, and one of my favorites, can’t sit still. But what makes “these kids” so terrible?
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