Judge Rotenberg Center Investigated

Cannons on display in Sharpsburg, Maryland.


In response to a joint letter from disability rights organizations, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation of the Judge Rotenberg Center, a Massachusetts institution that is infamous for its use of electric shock and other practices widely condemned by disability and human rights advocates. Many efforts have been made to shut the place down under state law, but without success. Now that the "big guns" of a Federal civil rights investigation have been brought out, maybe we'll finally get somewhere; I'm cautiously optimistic.

More articles about the Judge Rotenberg Center investigation can be found at the Boston Herald, the Boston Globe, Mother Jones, WWJ Newsradio 950, WHDH Channel 7, Left Brain/Right Brain, Fox News Boston, WTOV Channel 9, UPI, the Washington Post, the Denver Post, KSTP Channel 5, the Keene Sentinel, Autist's Corner, and Disability Rights Oregon.

Good Ol' Boys

This town's for normal folks, see. You know, the good folks that look and sound and act just like the rest of us. Them others what ain't normal, or got kids what ain't normal, well—they don't none of 'em belong in this town. Let 'em keep to their own kind. And one thing's for sure, they ain't got no business putting their brats in our schools, right next to proper-acting kids. Fact is, them what ain't normal just need a good beatin' to teach 'em their place.

'Course, we know they ain't never gonna be normal, however much we beat tar outta 'em. See, they ain't really human like us. But we just like to whup on 'em anyway, 'cause it's fun, and maybe if we do it enough we'll finally beat some sense into their thick ree-tard skulls and run 'em outta town.

Just now heard tell there's some agitatin' in Congress about seclusion and restraint in the schools. Seems we got us some damn fools who think it's cruel to lock ree-tards in broom closets or duct tape 'em to chairs. They even set up a National Call-In Day to do more agitatin' about it. Hoo-ee, ain't they ever gonna stop yappin' about civil rights and interferin' with the way regular folks do things? It was bad enough when we had to let the Nee-groes into our schools, and of course they started gettin' too friendly with our daughters, and now we got us a moo-latto in the White House. Country's goin' to hell in a handbasket, I tell you. Ain't no wonder we got troublemakers as want to be nice to ree-tards.

Don't let 'em fool you with all their agitatin' about civil rights. You know, that's just a code word for the Satan-worshiping commie Illuminati conspiracy to set up a world government, take away all our guns, and burn all our Bibles. Well, I got plenty guns in the cellar, and even a Bible down there somewhere under all the ammo, and anyone fool enough to come for my guns is gonna be pure-dee daid. Got me a rope for any ree-tard what tries to get too friendly with my daughter, too, and a big ol' tree picked out to hang him from.

Now, if any good normal folks want to find me before the Klan meetin' tonight, I'll be out on the lake fishin' with a bottle of Jim Beam…

Cassandra's Impact on Autistic Victims of Domestic Violence

Much of the criticism surrounding the faux Cassandra disorder invented by Maxine Aston, wherein she claims that being in a romantic relationship with an autistic person causes psychological harm to a non-autistic partner, has focused on the efforts of associated hate groups such as FAAAS to stereotype autistics as violent and unfit for family life. This false portrayal reflects a longstanding prejudice, recently addressed by ASAN President Ari Ne'eman, that people with disabilities are "inherently unfit as spouses or parents." To the extent this baseless prejudice is given credence by family law judges and social workers, it endangers the basic human right to marry and raise children. I received an e-mail just this morning, discussing the Cassandra scam and the harm caused by disability stereotypes, from a woman who wrote that "until I was 24 I wouldn't have been allowed to get married in many states in the USA. Why? Because I am epileptic."

Such stereotypes can be especially dangerous to autistic victims of domestic violence. Like other people with disabilities, many autistic people who are victims of abusive relationships are particularly vulnerable and may have great difficulty escaping from a life-threatening situation. If, because of the bigoted stereotype that the autistic partner is always to blame for family problems, an abused autistic's cries for help go unanswered, this could result in her death at the hands of her abuser. The feminist disability rights group F.R.I.D.A. points out that domestic violence against women with disabilities is widespread and that much more action needs to be taken to stop it. (For those of my readers who are in Illinois, there will be a F.R.I.D.A. rally at the State Capitol in Springfield on May 22, 2009, from 1:00 to 5:00 PM, addressing the issue of domestic violence against women with disabilities; please consider attending the rally to show your support if you can do so.)

I have reprinted below, with permission, a statement from an autistic woman who wrote of her struggle to escape a violent marriage and how difficult it was for her to explain the abuse to others. Fortunately, she was able to escape safely and to find people to help her. Others in her situation have not been so lucky.


I am having a very hard time explaining why I stayed so long, etc., because NTs do not seem to understand why a person with my apparent intelligence believed so many lies. I know this is a common thing among battered women, but trying to explain how an abuser would manipulate an intelligent woman's gullibility and social anxiety so well is very hard any time I have to deal with anyone who is not experienced with autistics or battered women in general. He is already using my inability to process information quickly to manipulate the court process by changing potential settlements at the last minute, while we are in court, so that I can't comprehend them in a meaningful way while I am on a time limit to sign. I have a very good attorney (legal aid turned us down so I had to pay for my own which is going to be very problematic financially since having a very good one is crucial and not cheap). We are very lucky to have one CPS finding against him and irrefutable evidence of infidelity (which is more useful than undocumented testimony about physical abuse, since he is of course lying about the extent of the abuse and trying to take advantage of the fact that the children are too young to go to court).

I am astounded by the lack of information on abuse against autistic partners right now and so saddened by the whole "cassandra" myth. My husband used my quirks as excuses for beating and cheating on me although from his perspective, having a wife who was afraid of conflict, absolutely faithful, very easy to lie to, easy to isolate so that no one else would know about the abuse and report it, and unable to conceal anything (including hidden bank accounts that I tried unsuccessfully to use to get out), was a huge plus. I have a friend who is a former attorney and battered women's advocate and is trying to help me communicate with my lawyer right now, which has been very difficult so far, but I am still very scared. Thankfully we have already gotten an agreement for no unsupervised visitation but it will still be very hard to endure the rest of the proceedings which may last a year or more.

The thing that gets me is that I know that as typical as I am of women on the spectrum in so many ways, I am sure there are a lot of people in my position who are suffering in silence. I was lucky that there are two staff members at the shelter with autistic family members who have helped advocate for me when the group living situation has become unbearable, but I don't know how it is in other shelters and suspect many other autistics in similar situations may not be so lucky.

I will have to look for that book next time I am at the library. It was a Gavin De Becker book that finally helped me read the nonverbal signs well enough to recognize the risk and get out quickly the day that I am sure I would have ended up dead or too injured to get the kids out in time. I continue to think the fact that I managed to find homes for the pets, get access to the car (I have never been allowed to have my own), and get the kids out of the house in less than two hours that day was a miracle.


Edit, June 27: Here is a link to a post by chaoticidealism on this topic, Cassandra's Opposite.

Abuse and Behaviorism

Disability rights groups such as TASH and NDRN have been seeking to bring more attention to the serious problem of restraints, seclusion, and other abuse of students with disabilities in America's schools. Among other approaches to dealing with this problem, they have suggested implementing positive approaches to discipline in schools and school districts. They have cited Positive Behavioral Supports (PBS) as an example of such an approach.

These disability organizations are not advocating the use of PBS as a treatment for autism. Rather, they are suggesting that school-wide and district-wide programs, which are called PBIS (this stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) and are intended to apply equally to all students, can improve the overall disciplinary environment and thereby help to prevent abuse and bullying of students with disabilities.

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network has been considering whether, and to what extent, it should support anti-abuse initiatives that promote the use of PBIS programs. Because the behavioral assessment methods used in PBS/PBIS have their roots in ABA, which has a long and sordid history of shoddy research and unethical practices when used as a treatment for autism (as thoroughly documented by Michelle Dawson on her website and blog), some members of the autistic community have questioned whether ASAN should support such initiatives.

The disability organizations that favor the use of PBIS are not relying on the ABA/autism research literature to support their position, however, but on data showing reduced disciplinary incidents among the entire student body in schools and districts that have adopted PBIS programs. Whether or not ABA should be used as a treatment for autism is irrelevant to an analysis of the use of PBIS for general disciplinary purposes. Moreover, many school districts do not even employ psychologists to run these programs, but instead arrange for district personnel to receive training from PBIS consultants. A school district that has a PBIS discipline program is using that program for purposes unrelated to autism and, in most cases, is not employing anyone who has ever used ABA as a treatment for autism.

Of course, in evaluating the effects of PBIS programs on students with disabilities, there are other factors that should be considered in addition to disciplinary incident data. It would be helpful to interview autistic students and their families regarding their experiences with such programs, taking into account a broad variety of quality of life issues. Also, as Ed discussed in a recent post, behavioral programs in the schools should "be critically scrutinized in order to see that their direction is productive and encourages more creativity rather than fewer freedoms."

Merryl Tisch, Distinguished Torturer

Education Update magazine has made plans to host a second New York Citywide Special Education Conference on Saturday, February 28, 2009. The conference is also sponsored by Hunter College, NYU, and District 75. The agenda includes the presentation of a "Distinguished Leader in Special Education" award to Merryl Tisch, the vice chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents.

In her capacity as the head of the Board of Regents' VESID (Vocational and Special Education for Individuals with Disabilities) Committee, Tisch bears responsibility for the infamous "emergency regulations" adopted by the Board of Regents in June 2006, which authorized aversive behavioral interventions, restraints, and seclusion to be used on students with disabilities. Wrightslaw listed the aversives authorized under these regulations as follows:


* noxious, painful, intrusive stimuli or activities intended to induce pain such as electric skin shock, ice applications, hitting, slapping, pinching, kicking, hurling, strangling, shoving, deep muscle squeezes
* noxious, painful or intrusive spray, inhalant or tastes
* withholding sleep, shelter, bedding, bathroom facilities or clothing; withholding meals, limiting essential nutrition or hydration
* movement limitation used as a punishment, including but not limited to helmets and mechanical restraint devices
* placing a child unsupervised or unobserved in a room from which the student cannot exit without assistance


"Strangling" was not a typo… and it's no coincidence that "electric skin shock" was the first item listed. These regulations were passed after an investigation of the Judge Rotenberg Center was conducted in April and May of 2006 by the New York State Education Department. After the report describing the investigation's findings proved to be highly critical of the JRC's practices, including its use of shock devices and other aversives on children with disabilities, Merryl Tisch and other supporters of the JRC took "emergency" action to ensure that students from New York could legally continue to be sent there.

Thereafter, in September 2006 and again in October 2006, Tisch along with other Regents voted to extend the regulations. Although a public outcry led to the removal of the most egregious language, such as "strangling," from the regulations, New York still allows the use of unlimited restraint and seclusion as a result of Tisch's efforts. The head of the NYS Assembly Health Committee compared the situation to Abu Ghraib in a letter asking the Regents to do the right thing. His request, along with others from major civil rights and disabilities organizations, was rebuffed.

In short, if Tisch deserves any official recognition for her "distinguished" career in special education, a tribunal investigating her for crimes against humanity would be more appropriate for her "distinguished" accomplishments. Letters, e-mails, and telephone calls protesting this shameful choice for the award should be directed to:

Dr. Pola Rosen
Publisher and Editor in Chief
Education Update
695 Park Avenue
Suite E1509
New York, NY 10065-5024
Tel: 917-375-0497
Fax: 212-772-4769
ednews1@aol.com

Struggle Against Abuse Continues in Florida

I wrote a post in July about a state investigation of abusive treatment of autistic students in Florida schools. Those with knowledge of such mistreatment were urged to contact a state hotline to tell their stories. Now, more incidents of abuse are coming to light. As alleged in a recently filed lawsuit, a 7-year-old autistic student, Isaiah Moore, was hit and choked by a behavior analyst at a school in the St. Lucie County School District (the same district in which teacher Wendy Portillo became infamous for telling her kindergarten students to vote an autistic child out of class).

According to an article in a local newspaper, the child's mother, Anna Moore, and her attorney said that the lawsuit isn’t about money, but about making sure a similar incident doesn’t happen to another child.


Moore said it would be easier for her to walk away from the incident, since Isaiah is happy at his new school.

“This needs to stop. It’s not just my son. If people keep walking away, it’s never going to stop,” she said.


She urges parents and others who are aware of abuse in Florida schools to get involved in efforts to change the law to protect students with disabilities. More information about the struggle to end abuse in Florida schools can be found at the Florida Families Against Restraint and Seclusion website.

Mistreatment of children with disabilities unfortunately is a major problem in American schools in general. The Florida group mentioned above is affiliated with a Yahoo group that maintains a blog, Families Against Restraint and Seclusion, which addresses the issue from a national perspective.


Edit, December 31: Anna Moore has created a video about the harm caused by restraint and seclusion, and about the need for stronger laws to prevent abuse of children with disabilities:

Florida Advocates, Make Yourselves Heard

After the autism blogging community made the world aware of the mistreatment of a young autistic boy, Alex Barton, in a Florida school in May, more parents in the state came forward and spoke about their own concerns regarding their children's education. The office of the Florida Attorney General has now taken notice. As reported by the Port Saint Lucie News, the Attorney General's office has launched a statewide investigation into the treatment of autistic students in Florida schools and has established a citizen services hotline to take comments at (866) 966-7226. (Thanks to jypsy for the link.)

Dennis Debbaudt, a resident of Port Saint Lucie who is an expert presenter of training seminars about autism to police and first response professionals, has issued the following statement urging advocates in the autistic community to respond to the Attorney General's call for comments:


As autism advocates, it's not every day that opportunity comes knocking. Especially when it comes in the wake of, to put it mildly, an unfortunate situation such as Alex Barton's.

But what an opportunity.

Our stories need to be heard and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum wants to—needs to—hear them.

Bill McCollum's office has set up a toll free number to do just that: (866) 966-7226. His office is also organizing a day to hear from us in person.

While it may be difficult to travel to attend a hearing, writing a letter or putting your story on videotape may be an option for some of us. Others yet may need the assistance of an interpreter. Please take the time and effort necessary to get your story to the attention of the Attorney General.

Write the letter. Ask for help to translate your story. Ask your friend with a video camera to record your comments. Best of all, plan on attending the live event to share your story.

However the medium we choose, now is the time to be heard by the chief law enforcement officer in the state.


Many thanks to Dennis Debbaudt for getting the word out! Although the Attorney General's call for comments refers specifically to parents, if you are an autistic self-advocate who attended or is currently attending Florida schools, I encourage you to contact the Attorney General's office with your story. Public officials need to know that we can—and do—speak for ourselves.

St. Lucie County Schools, Vote Wendy Portillo Out

I was thoroughly disgusted when I read about the abuse of a kindergarten student by teacher Wendy Portillo at Morningside Elementary School in Port St. Lucie, Florida. After making five-year-old Alex Barton stand in front of the class as punishment for misbehavior, Portillo told the other students to list what they didn't like about him and then encouraged them to "vote" him out of the class. When she did this, Portillo was aware that Alex had developmental differences and was in the process of being tested for an Asperger's diagnosis. She also knew that his family had recently moved, which would cause any young child—and especially an autistic child—to feel anxious and vulnerable.

Alex's mother, Melissa Barton, reported that he was so upset afterward that she had to withdraw him from school because he started screaming when he saw the building. Police investigated her report of child abuse, but no criminal charges were filed. The St. Lucie County Schools and the Department of Children and Families also are investigating.

There is no excuse whatsoever for a teacher, who ought to be setting an example of positive values, to instead teach a group of kindergarteners to bully and ostracize an emotionally vulnerable child. Wendy Portillo needs to be removed from that classroom immediately, so that she cannot abuse any more children. The St. Lucie County Schools must also be made aware of the need to review and strengthen the school district's policies on preventing bullying and other abuse, as well as training teachers about neurological differences. Contact information is provided below:


Morningside Elementary School Principal:
Mrs. Marcia Cully
cullym@stlucie.k12.fl.us
(772) 337-6730

St. Lucie County Schools Superintendent:
Michael J. Lannon
4204 Okeechobee Road
Ft. Pierce, FL 34947-5414
Phone: 772/429-3925
FAX: 772/429-3916
lannonm@stlucie.k12.fl.us

St. Lucie County School Board Chair:
Carol Hilson
772-519-0397
hilsonc@stlucie.k12.fl.us

Vice Chair:
Judith Miller
772-528-4545
millerj@stlucie.k12.fl.us


The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is asking all those who write to express their outrage to cc: info@autisticadvocacy.org so that ASAN can keep track of the strength and sources of the response.

Update, May 26: There is an excellent post about Alex Barton and Wendy Portillo on Daily Kos, with hundreds of comments.

Update, May 27: The St. Lucie County School District has removed Wendy Portillo from contact with students while district officials conduct an investigation into her behavior. Also, here is another Daily Kos post with contact information for sending toys and cards to be forwarded to Alex Barton.

Avoiding Abusive Counselors and Support Groups

From time to time, I’ve come across horror stories about counselors and support groups. And it occurred to me that although I have seen many articles that provide lists of "red flags" for identifying potentially toxic and abusive romantic partners, I haven't seen any similar checklists giving advice to autistics (and others with neurological differences) on what to avoid when looking for support and counseling.

People who are looking for a counselor or a support group often are emotionally vulnerable and are at risk of ending up in an unhealthy situation which, just like a marriage to an abusive spouse, will drain away their self-esteem and leave them feeling inadequate and dependent. Here's my list of danger signs indicating when a counselor or support group is becoming abusive (and yes, I've seen every one of these mentioned somewhere; I didn't just make them up. Please feel free to post your own suggestions in the comments, along with links to similar articles if you know of any.)


(1) Instead of being treated as an individual, you are given a lecture about what is wrong with "people like you."

(2) You are advised to make extensive changes to your behavior and lifestyle so as to become indistinguishable from your peers.

(3) When you talk about your concerns, you're dismissed as paranoid, unreasonable, or too sensitive.

(4) If you happen to be unemployed, you are told that you're just a lazy slacker and would have found a job by now if you'd tried harder.

(5) You mention something positive that you've accomplished relating to a special interest, and you get ridiculed or told that you are displaying poor social skills by bringing up a topic that nobody cares about.

(6) If you haven't found a compatible romantic partner, you are told that it's because nobody wants to date people like you and that the only way you'll find a girlfriend or boyfriend is to pretend to be completely different.

(7) You say that you feel dissatisfied with a job that does not challenge you intellectually or provide opportunities for career advancement, and you are told that you should shut up and be grateful anyone was willing to hire you at all.

(8) If you express a positive attitude regarding any aspect of your neurology, you are told that this is a psychological defense mechanism and that it's clear you are in denial about the true extent of your misery.

(9) When you disagree with the counselor or group, you are told that you are being childish and that your contrary behavior is a symptom of your disorder.

(10) If you mention that you have thought about leaving the counselor or group, the immediate response is an outraged tirade to the effect that if you are irresponsible enough to do so, you'll inevitably waste the rest of your life as a worthless burden on your parents and/or society.

This Is Not Who We Are

I recently had the privilege of attending an event where I was able to see, in person, the next President of the United States (if we have the good sense to elect him), Barack Obama. In discussing why we all need to get motivated to take back our country and restore our national values, Senator Obama spoke about the disregard for human rights shown by a government that sees nothing wrong with torture. This is not what America stands for, he said. This is not who we are.

Although he was talking about the mistreatment of terror suspects by the Bush administration, those words are equally applicable to the Judge Rotenberg Center, a Massachusetts institution that routinely uses electric shock on children with developmental disabilities. There have been several administrative and legislative attempts to put an end to this heinous abuse of our society's most vulnerable children, but so far, the place is still in business.

Many bloggers and human rights groups have asked why the State of Massachusetts can't shut down the Judge Rotenberg Center. It's for the same reason, as I see it, why the people of America haven't yet shut down Guantanamo Bay—too much apathy among the voters and too little insistence on demanding accountability from our elected officials. We lack full awareness of our personal power as citizens of a democratic nation to force our government to conduct itself in a decent manner. People talk to each other about such things and say, this is terrible, or that is awful; but then we just sit back and wait for someone else to deal with it.

Ultimately, it is our responsibility as citizens and as human beings to ensure that those who represent us in government will never commit, or allow others to commit, human rights abuses. If you live in Massachusetts, contact your state legislators and ask them if, like Barack Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick, they are ready to turn the page on this shameful era in American history and to take an unequivocal stand against government-sanctioned torture under any circumstances. Ask them if they will firmly commit themselves to enacting legislation to outlaw the use of electric shock and other abusive behavior modification practices.

If the answer is anything other than yes, GET YOUR BUTT TO THE POLLS AND VOTE THEM OUT! There is no excuse for politicians authorizing the torture of children with developmental disabilities. None. Zero. Ever. And there is no excuse for voters being so apathetic as to let them stay in office when they do.

This is not who we are.

Child Abusers Convicted

On Friday, a jury convicted Michael and Sharen Gravelle of four felony counts of child endangering, two misdemeanor counts of child endangering, and five misdemeanor counts of child abuse. (Unfortunately, the jury acquitted them on several other counts.) The charges were filed after authorities learned that the Gravelles had forced some of their 11 adopted special-needs children to sleep in chicken wire cages. Witnesses testified that the cages were filthy and lacked bedding. The Gravelles lost custody of the children in March.

According to a news article about the trial, the Gravelles tried to claim that the cages had useful behavioral purposes:


During the trial, their defense included testimony from a social worker and others who said they never witnessed abuse and said the children's behavior improved because of the cages, which were painted bright blues and reds.


I'm reminded of the Judge Rotenberg Center, with its brightly painted rooms designed to distract visitors' attention from the electric shock devices and other tortures inflicted on its students. But unlike the JRC's child abusers (who are still in business), the Gravelles soon will be going to prison where they belong.

When the Gravelles are sentenced, they will get 1 to 5 years in prison for the felony counts. I have a suggestion for the prison officials: How about painting their cells in bright blues and reds, giving them no bedding, and observing their behavior to see if it improves?

You Don't Know What You're Talking About

After I wrote a post about the horrific abuse at the Judge Rotenberg Center, I got a couple of comments from JRC apologists (both anonymous, no surprise there) who sang the praises of using electric shocks on children. One of them snidely remarked, "I wouldn't express such strong opinions on subjects I know nothing about."

It's interesting how often autistic activists are told that we know nothing about how people like us ought to be treated. Although we have a lifetime of experience being autistic, we're told that the only people who are qualified to say anything about us are those who study, or work with, or take care of autistic "patients" or "subjects." Even when we are talking about the most basic human rights, there's always someone who is quick to proclaim that we just don't understand that the usual rules for humans do not apply to some of us.

Of course, this sort of attitude is nothing new in history. Oppression always has been rationalized in one way or another. I've put together a list of just a few examples...

Roman Emperor: What do you mean, it's inhumane to throw people like you to the lions? It's a very effective way of maintaining civic discipline and morale. If too many of our citizens followed your dangerous way of thinking, we would be overrun by barbarians. Sending a few people like you to the lions is in everyone's best interests, even yours, as you would understand if you had any common sense.

Medieval Inquisitor: We had no choice but to burn those heretics at the stake. It was for their own good, to free them from the devil's clutches. Although we tried other methods of curing the disease of heresy, nothing else was effective. Surely you don't think we should have been so cruel as to let them fester in their heresy.

Colonial Settler: You just don't know what it's like to be in a primitive country full of savages. Yes, we kill some natives from time to time, but it's the only way to keep them in line. In a few years, they'll thank us for making decent Christians out of them.

Slave Owner: Who are you to criticize the way I run my plantation? You don't know anything about how to make those uppity negroes behave properly. Keeping them in bondage is an act of kindness; they wouldn't be able to take care of themselves if they were free.

Wife Beater: There's nothing wrong with the way I treat my wife. I love my wife. I've been taking care of her for years, providing for all her needs. I want only the best for her. It's just a fact of life that women are weak-minded and need firm guidance and discipline.

Abusive Cop: Okay, so I was caught on videotape beating a handcuffed suspect. Don't get all moralistic about it. You don't have a clue what it's like out there on the street. Those criminals aren't people, they're animals. If we didn't show them who's boss, they would be breaking into your house and raping your daughters.

War Criminal: You don't have any idea what it's like to be stationed in a war zone. Those people don't act decent and civilized, like us; they're nothing but vicious terrorists. Sometimes we have to use aggressive interrogation techniques to get information to keep our troops safe. Yeah, maybe we killed and maimed a few civilians, but that's war.

Judge Rotenberg Center Help Wanted Ad

I recently googled Filthy Child Abusers Inc.—oops, I meant the Judge Rotenberg Center—and noticed that a large number of help wanted ads came up in the results. Looks as if they may be having a problem with staff turnover. Hmmm, I wonder why? Maybe it's hard to find people who are so sickeningly depraved as to enjoy torturing disabled kids for a living? Naa-a-ah. More likely, their personnel department needs a little help drafting more precise ads to bring in applications from just the right candidates. I'm feeling charitably inclined today, so I'll offer them, free of charge, a few suggestions for a well-targeted ad:

Ability to tell creative stories. No, sorry, the Judge Rotenberg Center isn't looking for kindhearted staff who enjoy telling bedtime stories to the kiddies. The sort of creativity that's needed here is a talent for inventing plausible explanations for injuries, such as claiming that burns from electrodes all over a child's body were caused by medical conditions. Staff at the Judge Rotenberg Center must also be able to repeat the Big Lie with a straight face, that is, the claim that electric shocks are necessary to prevent severely disturbed youths from maiming themselves through self-injury. Pathological liars are strongly encouraged to apply, as this whopper of a story is becoming much harder to tell now that the mainstream media are reporting the truth. (For example, as reported by the Boston Herald, Antwone Nicholson, a teenager whose mother has filed a lawsuit against the school district that was responsible for sending him to the Judge Rotenberg Center, was routinely shocked whenever he swore or did not cooperate.)

Math skills helpful. It appears that some of the creative storytellers at the Judge Rotenberg Center are a tad mathematically impaired. They're claiming that Antwone Nicholson had 5,000 violent episodes a week before they started shocking him. Let's get out our calculators, readers. There are 10,080 minutes in a week. That means the kid would've needed to have a "violent episode" every two minutes, around the clock, for an entire week, without ever stopping to eat, sleep, use the toilet, et cetera. No matter how creatively a "violent episode" may be defined, we're getting into the realm of mathematical impossibility here. (But hey, what's a little perjury and evidence tampering among friends, right?)

Not easily flustered. By bothersome little annoyances like children screaming in extreme pain, tort lawsuits, child abuse investigations, the occasional homicide investigation... heck, it's just another day at the ol' ball yard.

Equal opportunity employer. Male, female, any race, color, creed or national origin are welcome to apply. (No need to mention the disabled. They're not people, are they?)

Preference for veterans. Extra bonus points on the application will be given to those who have experience interrogating prisoners at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay.

And the most essential qualification for a job at the Judge Rotenberg Center?

Total lack of human decency.

Accomplices in Abuse

In a notorious child abuse case involving a couple who adopted a large number of special-needs children and kept them in cages, a social worker who knew of the abuse and failed to report it has been charged as an accomplice to the crime.

It's about time. On far too many occasions, the most horrendous abuses have been ignored or even sanctioned at all levels of government, just because the victims had some sort of disability label and therefore were seen as less worthy of human rights. The infamous Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts, which routinely administers electric shocks to autistic children and deprives them of food for prolonged periods, does so under the authority of court orders obtained pursuant to state regulations.

A more insidious form of abuse often occurs when doctors and psychologists make extremely negative and unfounded statements upon diagnosing a child. Parents may be told that their infant or toddler will never be able to communicate or to live independently, although of course there is no way anyone can accurately predict a small child's future. Traditional IQ tests, which rely heavily on spoken language, grossly underestimate the intelligence of autistic children. As a result, many children are denied educational opportunities and are forced to lead segregated and restricted lives.

There are strong parallels between our society's current attitude toward autistics and its treatment of the Deaf in previous generations. Historically, many Deaf children were thought to be mentally retarded because they could not communicate orally. They made easy targets for eugenics schemes. In 1925, a deaf-mute black teenager in North Carolina was accused of rape. Because he could not speak in his own defense, he was found to be incompetent, castrated under the state's eugenics laws, and locked up in a state mental hospital for 69 years. It wasn't until the 1990s that the authorities realized he could not hear.

Just a horror story from the bad old days? I really wish I could believe we're all more civilized nowadays, but frankly, I doubt it. The latest disgusting quackery being promoted by the biomed cultists is the use of chemical castration drugs on autistic children in conjunction with chelation treatments. The more things change...

Every one of the chelation doctors ought to be in prison for child abuse, as well as health care fraud and other crimes. (I was going to compare them to voodoo doctors, but on second thought, that comparison would be an insult to voodoo doctors. If the chelationists were practicing good old-fashioned voodoo, they wouldn't be doing nearly as much harm.)

Ultimately, the blame has to fall on the mainstream medical profession for creating an environment in which autism is dreaded as an incurable plague. If doctors and psychologists gave truthful and unbiased information to parents of newly diagnosed children, these parents would not feel the shock and desperation that drive them into the greedy clutches of the quacks.

Physicians, heal thy ignorant selves.

Autistic Slave Labor

Originally posted November 2005

Michelle Dawson is not the only person who is hopping mad about this outrageous violation of human rights. In a recent press release, the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR), which has been soliciting funds from unsuspecting parents for a "cure" and using the money to fund prenatal testing eugenics research, disclosed that it is using the labor of institutionalized autistic adults, including those at the infamous Eden Institute in New Jersey, to stuff its solicitation envelopes. (Follow the "hopping mad" link to find the URL of the press release – I'm not giving those bastards a link.)

Eden is an aptly named organization; it's a paradise for sadists who enjoy torturing the most vulnerable people in our society. It is on the watch lists of human rights groups such as the Autism National Committee, the Family Alliance to Stop Abuse and Neglect, and TASH, who are lobbying for a ban on the use of aversives, that is, behavioral modification methods that involve the deliberate infliction of physical pain or discomfort. This New Jersey advocacy site gives a graphic illustration, taken from an actual behavioral plan, of how aversives are used on helpless residents of institutions such as Eden:

"When Roy becomes person or object aggressive he is to be placed in arm restraints and seated. Staff are to ask, "Roy, your behavior is irresponsible. Are you ready to accept responsibility for your behavior?" If Roy responds "yes," he is to be forced to inhale ammonia for three seconds, sprayed with water for thirty seconds, and again forced to inhale ammonia for three seconds. Roy is then to thank staff for their help. If Roy responds negatively and does not accept responsibility for his behavior, staff are to repeat the ammonia, water spray, ammonia sequence. If, asked again to accept responsibility for his behavior, he again refuses, the aversive sequence is to be repeated twice in succession."

As Michelle Dawson points out, autistics who are held captive in such hellholes, in addition to being forced to comply with all activities that are included in their behavioral plan (such as stuffing NAAR's envelopes for long hours without pay) must also display a suitable amount of enthusiasm, as determined by the behaviorists, while doing so. The closest historical parallel is the experience of African-American slaves on plantations in the Old South, who were often made to sing, by an overseer standing nearby with a cat-o'-nine-tails, while they picked cotton.

The only significant difference is that the cotton picked by the black slaves, unlike NAAR's research, wasn't intended to be used as a means of committing a worldwide genocide against the slaves' own people.

For those readers who think it's too farfetched to speculate that autistics might someday be kept in labor camps and forced to work toward the extermination of their own kind, like the Jewish prisoners of the Nazis – it's now a fact that some of us already are.