The Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint celebrates our fifth anniversary on Tuesday, March 26th. As part of the celebration, we asked a few of our volunteers to share their stories about how they became involved with AASR. Be sure to join our special live event on March 26th at 3:30 (ET). Also, please consider donating to our fifth-anniversary fundraiser so we can continue this vital work.
When I think back to about five years ago now, around the time that I first learned of my daughter’s traumatic seclusion incident at school from another parent, I was in a state of shock. After running into one frustrating and upsetting experience after another with the school and district, and even in reviewing provincial education policies, the only thing that I could think to do was to search the issue of seclusion and restraint online. There wasn’t much. There was, however, this one shining light called the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint. I was ever so thankful that Guy Stephens was willing to set up a support call almost immediately. I’ve learned now that Guy is always ready to support whoever needs it whenever he can.
From that first conversation or two, I didn’t expect this would all become such a big part of my life. At the time, going through a human rights complaint process that was never even investigated was an experience that I truly needed some advice on. From there, Guy and I have gone on to work together on a few projects that have been very effective from the point of advocacy in New Brunswick and Canada. For approximately 16 months, we communicated with the producer of CTV W5 (similar to 60 minutes in the US) to inform them of the issue of seclusion and restraint, particularly in Canada, for their news documentary “Restrained.” You can find my daughter Lily and I in Part 2. We have brought light to this issue on the legislative floor in New Brunswick and have been told by the NB Child and Youth Advocate that the information we provided has affected the Education Act and Inclusion Policy in New Brunswick. Things are not yet where we need them to be, but we are certainly making big strides in the right direction.
From the beginning, Guy and I always agreed that we couldn’t just tell people what we wanted them to stop doing in the area of seclusion and restraint; we needed to give them alternatives. I dove into as many live interviews that Guy put on, with professionals who knew how to do better with our children, as I could. I still felt I needed to do more. The book studies that we began to offer through the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint is really the product of an incredible community of individuals dedicated to igniting a “paradigm revolution,” as Dr. Stuart Shanker likes to say. That Guy Stephens and AASR could give us all the opportunity to meet wonderful professionals and authors such as Dr. Mona Delahooke, Dr. Lori Desautels, Ginger Healy, Dr. Stuart Shanker, Joe Brummer, and Dr. Arielle Silverman has been a gift and an honor. Learning from them has been a profound pleasure, and I dare say it has made me a better person as a result.
Along the way, I decided to continue this education through The Mehrit Centre’s and Dr Stuart Shanker’s Self-Reg Foundations Certificate program, and it has been life-changing. The most surprising thing to witness through our book studies has been the connection and community that we have built with our book study participants. They have added a new, amazing dimension to our volunteer work. It’s been a pleasure getting to know them all and learning side-by-side.
To say that I’m proud to be a part of this organization is an understatement. I’m surrounded by genuine, kind-hearted, incredibly intelligent professionals and parents whom I am happy to call friends, as well as fellow volunteers with AASR. This group of people from such very diverse backgrounds, all working towards a common goal, has been inspiring, to say the least. This entire experience has been a journey of healing, connection, and community that I wouldn’t change for anything. Thank you, Guy, for this incredible gift. Happy five year Anniversary!
