Category: Trauma
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A Letter to the Burlington School District Board
My name is Brian Dalla Mura, and I am writing to express my deep concern and strong desire for the Burlington School District Board to establish a subcommittee dedicated to reviewing and revising its discipline and restraint and seclusion policies.
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A Last Resort?
Today, I want to share a more typical example of what we see leading to the use of restraint and seclusion – noncompliance. First, a trigger warning: what you are about to read will be difficult and upsetting. We will review an actual report, which we redacted to protect the victim’s identity. The report we…
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Myths Behind Restraint and Seclusion – A Literature Review
Federal data indicates that in the United States upwards of 100,000 students are restrained and secluded (R&S) every year in public schools (Kim, 2022). The OCR defines restraint as the act of, “restricting the student’s ability to move his or her torso, arms, legs or head freely” (Office of Civil Rights, 2016) which includes restriction…
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Stranger Danger: Restrained at Daycare
Much of what I have learned about autism over the years has been to help my son feel more comfortable and successful in a world that can feel overwhelming to him. I’ve also learned that it’s important to share our story – it’s not always easy for me to put our experiences and feelings into…
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Bal-A-Vis X…Using Rhythm and Connection for Regulation
Balance Auditory Vision Exercises is a series of about 300 exercises created by Bill Hubert, a long-time American educator, that are deeply rooted in rhythm and based on precise physical techniques that anyone can learn and implement with their students and clients immediately.
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Trauma Sharing Between Students and Educators
The nature of trauma causes considerable reactions in those who are directly experiencing it and those who are witness to its impact on children. The experience of those who are impacted by trauma is much different from those who are witnesses; however, there are more similarities than we think. Children are impacted more acutely as…
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“People in the Physical Sense”: Historical Perspectives on the Restraint of Autistic Children in Public Schools
Ensuring safety in our schools has become a focus over the past few years, typically discussed in terms of external threats such as gun violence. However, for many special education students, it’s not active shooters or bomb threats they need to concern themselves with- it’s their teachers and therapists. In 2009, the congressional watchdog agency Government…
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Isolated in Vermont: Trauma lasts a lifetime
I want to preface this by explaining that I only write this anonymously because I don’t want colleges or future employers to look my name up and read about my childhood trauma. I attended kindergarten through 4th grade in a Vermont Public School. I am now in High School. Last year a letter was written…
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It’s time to ban seclusion in New Jersey schools
Seclusion is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. In June, an investigation by the NJ Advance Media led to the publication of an article, “Inside the quiet rooms.” The article stated that at least 1,150 New Jersey students had been…
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Invisible Voices: Wednesday’s Children
The school-to-prison pipeline exist for the rest of the country despite local, state, and national efforts. Why? Inadequate funding and resources for schools, harsh zero-tolerance policies, and police presence in public schools continue to create school environments in which poor and minority students have little chance of succeeding. Fatherless homes, single moms working more than…