Category: Restraint
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Nightmares from the “the naughty room”
I often tell people that when our son Cole was born thirteen years ago with Down syndrome, that he flipped our world upside down in the best way. His love of life and ability to appreciate the moment is something we can all learn from. He has always been a loving, kind and funny little…
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Children with challenging behaviors need compassion and calming, not restraint or seclusion
Max Benson was only 13 when he died in a Sacramento, California hospital in November of 2018. A day earlier, after school employees allege that he spit on a classmate, school staffers had responded by holding him in a face-down restraint for an hour and 45 minutes, according to court records. He never recovered.
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Is your child being locked up at school in Canada?
With the help of Silas Brown of Global News, we are finally able to tell our story, and to warn other parents about what happened to our non-verbal, autistic daughter Lily, at her old school.
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Maryland use of restraint and seclusion increasing
According to a recent report from the Maryland State Department of Education, the use of restraint and seclusion is increasing in Maryland schools. The report, Restraint and Seclusion: Data Collection, Findings, and Recommendations 2018/19 indicated that there were 19,713 instances of restraints and 9,532 instances of seclusion reported during the 2018/19 reporting period.
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Restraint and Seclusion: Where is the Outrage?
The harmful practices of seclusion and restraints have been in the public eye and before Congress and state Departments of Educations for over 20 years. There has been a sense of urgency for every parent whose child has been impacted, for advocacy groups and for legislators who have worked diligently to create changes, including through…
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What can I do? If my child is being restrained and/or secluded?
One question we commonly get at the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint is what can I do if my child is being restrained an or secluded at school? First know that you are not alone, other parents are going through this as well, and we have a community that can help. Next it is important…
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Dear Colleague Letter: Restraint and Seclusion of Students with Disabilities (2016)
In December 2016 Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, for the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague letter to provide guidance on how restraint and seclusion in schools can spur discrimination against students with disabilities, and recommendations for how educators and staff might approach discipline.
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Be the change that you wish to see in the world
Our children’s future and others like them are literally on the line Today’s guest author is Pamela Ononiwu. Pamela is a mother from Virginia and a Candidate for School Board Member, for Fairfax County Public Schools, the Mt. Vernon District. When it was revealed in March 2019 that Fairfax County Public Schools had thousands of cases where…
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Restraint and Seclusion by the Numbers
The civil rights of disabled children and minorities are being violated Restraint and seclusion disproportionately impact disabled children and African American students in the United States. Many of the children impacted by restraint and seclusion are elementary school students as young as five years old. In the 2015–2016 school year over 122,000 students were restrained…
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The Allegory of the Closet
The nightmares from childhood trauma are first lived, then never lived down. I woke up this morning around 4:30 am in a cold sweat. I was awakened from a nightmare. It’s a recurring nightmare for me. It’s the kind of dream from which one awakens and feels it just happened, that all the sensations felt…