Tag: Seclusion
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Back to school can be a challenging time for neurodivergent students
Back to school is generally seen as a time for new clothes, new teachers, and new challenges for students of all ages. To autistic students, students with genetic conditions affecting behavior, and other disabled students, these activities can be fraught with landmines. How will they fit into these learning environments? Will the teachers understand your…
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I’m a teacher, and I don’t believe restraints keep children safe
I started my career working in a residential facility. Restraints and seclusions were common, almost daily experiences. So I have a long history with them. I am embarrassed to say that while I was in my 20’s trying to supervise extremely volatile and impacted children, I saw them as “sometimes necessary for safety.” I don’t…
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Safety First: A quick start guide for parents working to keep their kids safe from restraint, seclusion, suspension, and expulsion
When I held each of my two kids as newborns, I promised to keep each of them as safe as possible. I know that the world isn’t fair and that no parent can (or should) shield their children from all of life’s difficulties, but I thought that since I had a relatively safe childhood, I…
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These Things Go in a Closet
These things go in a closet. Kids don’t belong in a closet in school. These things go in a closet. Putting kids in a closet is cruel. Putting kids in a closet is cruel. Vote to end the seclusion rooms.
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A teacher on a mission to reduce and eliminate restraint and seclusion
I’m a special educator with over ten years of experience working in self-contained alternative classrooms in Arizona and Vermont. When I began my career, I was a teacher who restrained and secluded young children. I was a teacher who couldn’t have done anything differently because I lacked skills. I was new and inexperienced. I didn’t…
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The Impulsive Princess
School is hard. A classmate told my mom I wasn’t a real Princess. My mom said, “How do you know she isn’t a real Princess?” I Iaughed.This Princess is restrained and secluded at school for not listening or not working on boring worksheets or not sitting in my boring chair. Being secluded makes me sad…
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Ending Seclusion: Lessons in advocacy from our friends in New Hanover County, North Carolina
Advocacy is hard work. It takes time, energy, and tremendous dedication, but advocacy can change the world. I began my journey in advocacy by advocating for my son’s needs through the individual education plan (IEP) process at his school. Today the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint advocates for many children worldwide. We advocate for changes…
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A letter to the Board of Montclair Public Schools regarding restraint and seclusion
You may have seen the recent article on NJ.com called “Inside the quiet rooms.” The article focused on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools throughout the state. If you read the article, you no doubt saw the references to Montclair Public Schools. A mother and a former Montclair educator were quoted in the…
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Letting Go of Restraint and Seclusion
I was invited to join the Waterbury Area Anti-Racism Coalition (WAARC) in April of this year to discuss the impact of trauma associated with the use of restraint and seclusion, and I have since followed the process of policy review by the Harwood Unified Union School District (HUUSD). I am impressed by the depth and…
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How proper support and a service dog named Koko helped Mason
Back in the day, I would usually start my IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings with a statement like, “Restraint should be the last resort, or things will go downhill quickly.” Every year it seemed to get worse after the first restraint would happen. It was just the beginning of a long road ahead for my…