What are your thoughts on seclusion and restraint?

[SpottedFoxx]

Very important blog post over at http://www.ourjourneythruautism.com/2012/01/how-do-you-feel-about-use-of-restraint.html.  If you are against the use of seclusion and/or restraint with our kids, please go read this post - reach out to Jessica and let her know your thoughts.  This is super important legislation that can and will save lives!

[beachcomber]

Thanks for sharing this link. It honestly frightens me that this legislation is even required.

[SpottedFoxx]

It hurts me too Beach!  This summer at camp, my son was unnecessarily restrained.  His Advocate's boss (a special education teacher during the year) decided my son was a physical threat to her.  He's 3'll 45lbs and was angry and was trying to walk away to regroup.  She bruised him.  I was furious.  I will be supporting this bill in every way I can.  I was so devastated we had no legal recourse.

[mamarhu]

I have such mixed feelings on this subject. In addition to my own son with autism, I work with VERY high needs kids with autism and mental health issues. One of our kids had a recent incident where restraints and seclusion were not used (it was in the crisis plan to let the kid calm down in a safe to place, and a two/three person hold if necessary), and the situation escalated beyond all proportion. The school's immediate response was to call the police, who entered with shotguns drawn (loaded with beanbags they say, but still...). The child had been left in a classroom, where he did 1000's of dollars damage, including breaking out windows and walls with a shovel, and throwing a book at a teacher, drawing blood. All of this could have been avoided if the crisis plan had been followed. I am going to court today with the family of this 12 year old boy with autism, as the school is pressing charges.

I fully understand the intent of the bill, but I feel strongly that rather than a blanket ban, we need MUCH more training on how and when to use (or not use) restraints and seclusion and any other tools available.

To use a crude analogy, a chain saw is useful, but can be dangerous, life-threateningly so. The solution is to learn to use it safely, not to ban all chainsaws.

[SpottedFoxx]

But the point is - the plan wasn't followed, the child was put in danger (as was a teacher) and this has to stop!  The woman who restrained my son is certified in restraint!  Yet she bruised him.  

After my son was restrained, a friend of mine who works with high needs autistic teens & young adults shared with me the following story.  One of her students was in a rage.  He stormed out of the classroom and ran into the men's room.  She followed him.  He proceeded to rip the toilet out of the wall and drop it on the floor.  He paced back and forth, screaming as the water squirted all over the two of them.  She watched, made sure he was safe until he calmed down.  Yes, thousands of dollars in damage was done but no one was at risk (except the poor toilet).  Because of her job, she routinely has to restrain her students.  She has had her nose broken, glasses broken, got home with all sorts of cuts and bruises.  She has never ONCE so much as scratched a student let alone bruise one.  

Training isn't enough.  If professionals and schools have some more skin in the game (they could be held legally responsible), the training will be better and the professionals who are in jobs they shouldn't be will hopefully be removed from their current positions.  Right now, the woman who restrained my son is teaching special education pre-school.  I made sure the school was aware of what happened and as much as they would have loved to have done something more, all they could do was send her for more training and keep an eye on her.

[FarmerBeth]

I really agree about the accountability.  In our province, hospitals (including adult and children's psychiatric) and nursing homes are under department of health but small options homes (once again, both for kids and adults) are under department of community services.  I've worked in mental health both settings.  I find that because of licensing for nurses and health care settings, and the amount of charting and paper trail involved, workers are held very accountable and so incidents involving injury or emotionally violent situations are more rare than in the less regulated (for here) small options field.  If you know that your inappropriate/improper use of restraint will be immediately charted and sent to the government authorities and reviewed, it's a deterrent from not using restraint thoughtfully.

I thought it was good the bill was including seclusion.  Right now, in Nova Scotia, seclusion can't be used in school as a punishment, but I'd love to see some improvement with partial seclusion methods like time-out in at least having clear policies as to how long, where, for what transgressions, etc.  I get really frustrated when I see kids missing over a third of their school day in time out in the corner of a room, and it's considered OK because they are technically not secluded.  It's fine as a means to calm down, but not for every little squirm or blurting out.  One of the other TA's in a school