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Initiating, Implementing, Influential Restorative Justice on Campus: A Service-Learning Project Proposal
This service-learning project, Initiating, Implementing, Influential Restorative Justice on Campus, is inspired by the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint to address the ongoing need for more inclusive and effective behavioral support systems within the public education system. Current disciplinary approaches, including zero-tolerance policies, school suspension, and reliance on school resource officers, have been shown to…
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When the Mind Can Only Take Us So Far, the Body Brings Us Back Home: What Lives Under the Challenges We Seek to Understand
I remember sitting in my daughter’s room during a moment of overwhelm, saying the supportive things I’d read in the books, trying a different approach to the situation, and allowing her to have space to unravel. I remember that forced calm inside of me that I perfected in my career as a nurse, and noticing…
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The Kids Outside the Box
Viewing pictures of seclusion rooms and plywood seclusion boxes, videos of small children surrounded with mats or blocked into small spaces, quite literally turns my stomach. When I see these things, I imagine the horror the child must feel, enclosed, with no idea when, or really if, they will be released. The United States Department…
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Restorative Justice and Socioemotional Development in Children and Adolescents
Restorative justice has become increasingly important in educational and youth-centered settings because of the focus on healing relationships, promoting accountability, and encouraging empathy rather than relying solely on punishment. In schools and juvenile justice programs, restorative practices are often used to reduce harmful behavior, strengthen communication, and create emotionally supportive environments for children and adolescents.…
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The Power of “I Don’t Know That I Don’t Know”: How Authenticity in a Chaotic Moment Created Inconvenience and Expansion
In our tiny slices of reality, which are completely unique to us and created by our programming and experiences, we bump up against what we label as problems or challenges. We believe that our current reality is something that is fixed. We tighten into the triggers and divert up to our intellect to figure it…
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In the Midst of a Trigger, our Signals Dance: An Adoptive Mother’s Journey
On my journey as an adoptive mother, I have had the honor of being challenged beyond my own limiting beliefs, values, and attitudes about myself and my world. In the absolute joy that comes with parenting, I have also met my edges where strategies and knowledge made zero difference. Those precious moments showed up in…
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Tell Us Why You Support the Keeping All Students Safe Act and Why Others Should Too
We have an opportunity right now to protect children, support educators, and change the culture of our schools. The Keeping All Students Safe Act has strong support from disability, civil rights, and education organizations, but it will only become law if we build a loud, sustained public demand for action. Please take a few minutes…
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Leveling the Playing Field in School Safety: National Data Reveal Who Is Most Harmed by Restraint, Seclusion, and Corporal Punishment
We want to share with you an honors thesis project by former Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint intern Lauren Sukhu. The thesis offers powerful, data‑driven evidence that restraint, seclusion, and corporal punishment in U.S. public schools are not used equally; they fall most heavily on students with disabilities, Black students, students of two or more…
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A Parent’s Story: Seclusion, Anxiety, and Broken Trust
I am the parent of an 8-year-old child with autism who attends a Connecticut public school. Like many families, I trusted that the school would provide a safe and supportive environment where my child could learn, regulate, and thrive. My child had supports in place, including supervision and strategies to help manage sensory and behavioral…
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Approaching Seven Years of the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint
April is a meaningful month for me and for the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint. On April 23rd, it will be seven years since I started AASR. What began as a small effort to speak out against the harmful use of restraint and seclusion has grown into a national nonprofit and community working every day…
