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Stop the Shock Now! Take Action by May 28!
There is a school in the United States where students are literally shocked into submission. These students are children and young adults with disabilities or mental illnesses, most of whom are Black or brown. At this school, called the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC), staff are permitted to give the students painful skin shocks to change…
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My Time in a “School” for “Troubled Kids”
am an autistic adult. Around 2002, I was sent to a charter “school” in San Diego, California. This “school” was a place for so-called “troubled” kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At the facility, restraint, and seclusion were regularly practiced on kids who were having meltdowns or other compromising moments triggered by various things, be it schoolwork, activities, peers,…
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Upcoming Congressional Briefing: How Seclusion & Restraint Harms Children and What Congress Can Do to Stop It
The Alliance to Prevent Restraint, Aversive Interventions, and Seclusion (APRAIS) coalition, which the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint is a member, has announced a congressional briefing for May 23rd at 10:00 am to discuss the Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA). The briefing will include a diverse panel whose lived experiences with seclusion and restraint will shed…
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Volunteers Lead the Way to Change
What does volunteering mean to you? Giving your time to something that’s important to you can have tangible benefits – both for you and for the organization you serve. Over the last couple of years, AASR has seen an increase in the number of volunteers who get in touch with us and say they are ready to help. We feel that this…
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Meet Disability Advocate and AASR Volunteer Christopher Ripke
Christopher Ripke is an advocate for people with Developmental Disabilities in Nevada. Christopher is also against the use of restraints and seclusion. Christopher is a survivor of restraints and seclusion. As a person with a disability and an advocate, Christopher for the “Keeping All Students Safe Act.” Currently, Christopher works with a non-profit “People first…
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Making a Change: Getting Involved in Public Office to Improve Special Education and Stop the Abuse in our Schools
Getting involved in public office is scary, but it can also be a powerful way to drive positive change in the community. It can also be empowering as a parent or caregiver in your own recovery from the trauma your child may have experienced.
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My AASR Story: Jennifer Abbanat
As many know, I got involved with The Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint 4 1/2 years ago, about seven months after Max Benson was killed by restraint while at school. I couldn’t just let his death sit with zero action to ensure this never happens again. Unfortunately, it has continued to happen many more times since he…
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My AASR Story: Chantelle Hyde
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,…
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My AASR Story: Trisha Thompson
As a teacher and a parent, I have witnessed firsthand the need for change in our schools. The things I have seen in my workplaces and in schools my child has attended have really strengthened my drive to decolonize. Decolonization requires a commitment to creation just as much as a commitment to resistance and dismantling.
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My AASR Story: Dr. Arielle Silverman
I have been blind since birth and have been involved with blindness advocacy for the past 20 years. In 2014, I obtained my Ph.D. in social psychology because I wanted to use social science research to make life better for blind people. Eventually, though, I realized that people with all types of disabilities have common…
