[mamaclukey]

This made me cry. I am horrified to think this actually used to happen. You may not want to read it. I wished I hadn't. It basically involves things they used to do to try and get through to autistic children in the 60's. I can only be thankful it is looked at so much differently now.

http://neurodiversity.com/library_screams_1965.html

 

[ryansmom02]

That made me sick to my stomach....

 

[Finch]

Oh God. Oh God. I got to the 3rd picture and that was it. Oh God. I have to go get my baby and pull him in my bed and cuddle him now (he's napping in his bed upstairs).

My baby just gave a contented sigh when I peeked in on him, I didn't have the heart to wake him. I feel nauseated. I really feel like throwing up now. I just want to hug my little boy. I want to hug THAT little boy.

 

[krissi]

I could only give it a quick skim. I could not even imagine...

 

[Noodlesmom4]

Sadly, some milder forms of this are still used today by so-called professionals, and some children endure this type of abuse at the hands of parents/guardians.

It makes you wonder what happened to those poor children in the article. Their families must feel so guilty now that autism and gentle solutions/therapies are talked about regularly on tv.

 

[Marco Esquandolas]

Yeah, we're rational beings, my arse!!!!

:

I only hope for those who still "practice" that they practice on themselves first, or that karma is real or that they have a day or reckoning.......

 

[Attila the Honey]

I will never forget that third picture.

:

I am aching to hold that poor boy...

 

[rbear4]

Oh I have heard about this. I have never seen reports of it in such clarity and it is sickening, but very sadly, it is still happening today.

There is a place in New England (the school is in Rhode Island and the residential homes are in MA) that does this still. It is called now the Judge Rottenburg (not sure of the last name) center. It used to be called BRI or behavior research institute. It was started by Matthew Israel who also worked with Lovaas in these first studies in the posted article. Enough to make one sick isn't it. Gets worse.

It is now name the Judge whatever center after the judge who ruled it should be allowed to stay open. Before my kids were born I was early in my teaching career and I wanted to work with special needs children, particularly severe special needs and autism. I called on an add in the newspaper and went for an interview at this place called BRI. I had NO idea what it was when I went. Needless to say when they called me back I declined stating I could not work in a place like that.

I ended up working in a different residential school. In hindsight though the place I went was much more humane, thier practices still make me quite uncomfortable now that I know more. HOwever, my husband also worked at this residential school where I worked. He had a coworker on his team that had worked briefly at BRI and the stories he told were horrific.

How that can even be remotely close to legal to do to a human being is beyond my imagination. But it does still happen. As parents we really have to be vigilant and part of that is knowing what is out there.

Renee

 

[DreamsInDigital]

That poor little guy.

 

[Brazilianmommy]

Poor baby

 

[fek&fuzz]

That is vile. I wonder where those poor kids are now. Are they "cured"?

 

[~*SugarMama*~]

I can't even finish reading that. Electric shock because the child looks at her hands?! Corporal punishment for outbursts? Its heart breaking to think of ANY child going through that.

:

 

[rbear4]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fek&fuzz That is vile. I wonder where those poor kids are now. Are they "cured"?

I highly doubt it and even if they did make great progress in thier autism symptoms I would bet they will need loads of therapy for other issues caused by abuse such as PTSD.

 

[AllyRae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbear4 I ended up working in a different residential school. In hindsight though the place I went was much more humane, thier practices still make me quite uncomfortable now that I know more. HOwever, my husband also worked at this residential school where I worked. He had a coworker on his team that had worked briefly at BRI and the stories he told were horrific. How that can even be remotely close to legal to do to a human being is beyond my imagination. But it does still happen. As parents we really have to be vigilant and part of that is knowing what is out there. Renee

Did you happen to work at NECC in Framingham, MA? I worked there a few years back as an ABA specialist in the adult residential program.

I was just on their site today and it brought back so many memories!

I didn't know that RI had a school too--it sounds completely different than NECC was...

 

[AllyRae]

Good grief, I just went to the Judge Rotenberg Center's web page and man is the decor in there overstimulating. I can't imagine anyone remaining calm in there--the checkerboard floor and vegas style lights would drive *me* insane!

The article is sad though...many mental illnesses and psychological conditions were treated that way (see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest if you want to see a scary portrayal). It's good that treatments have come so far, but I feel so bad for the people that were the victims of the experiment...

 

[rbear4]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllyRae Did you happen to work at NECC in Framingham, MA? I worked there a few years back as an ABA specialist in the adult residential program. I was just on their site today and it brought back so many memories! I didn't know that RI had a school too--it sounds completely different than NECC was...

Yup, that was the one. It was NECA when I was there about 10 years ago. Then I worked for BEACON services for a few years. We moved cross country when DH got a job as an autism specialist out here and I got the best job ever. Stay home mom. Just starting back to work now since my littlest monkey is going into 1st grade.

I worked mostly with the kids or teens. I bet they are all adults now. I often wondered what happened to some of them. I loved the kids. They were awesome.

RI has a couple. Groden Center is much much better.

 

[AllyRae]

Oh wow!!! What a small world! (Some people were still calling it NECA when I was there too--guess some people didn't transition to the new name well). Such a small world that we worked in the same place (and probably with the same people, since I had the adults who were the first ones to come into the program as children, so you probably worked with them!)

 

[Individuation]

I'm glad this was posted on here. Guys, this is the reason I get so worked up about autism advocacy.

This stuff, albeit less extreme, still happens.

"But we're doing it to cure the child!"

: