State police seize documents from Massachusetts "shock" school

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, Massachusetts is an institution that has long earned our distaste and disdain. So news of a search with a search warrant is most welcome. As reported in the Boston Globe earlier this month

State Police seized documents late last week from the offices of the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton that are related to a prank phone call last summer that led two students to wrongfully receive dozens of punishing electrical shocks, according to two people with direct knowledge of the investigation.

The collection of evidence has to do with a yearlong grand jury investigation led by the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley, said Kenneth Mollins, a New York lawyer who has filed several lawsuits against the school and who said he spoke to a representative of Coakley's office about the Rotenberg investigation. Mollins said he was told the grand jury is also examining possible financial improprieties by the school.

The second source, who works for the state and asked to remain nameless because this person is not authorized to speak about grand jury proceedings, said State Police investigators came with a search warrant and left with boxes of documents. The source said the investigation had an ambitious scope and involves multiple government agencies.

Reached last night, Ernest Corrigan, a spokesman for the school, did not confirm that a seizure of documents had occurred last week. He said only that school officials have been cooperative with state and local police ever since they reported the prank phone call to police last summer.

"We've been supportive of the investigation," he said.

A spokesman for Coakley declined to comment, saying the office never confirms or denies an ongoing investigation.

The special-education school, which serves about 250 adults and children from across the country with emotional and behavioral problems, has been the target of numerous government investigations related to its unorthodox behavior-modification methods, including skin-shock treatments to deter inappropriate behavior. Rotenberg officials, who have weathered two attempts by Massachusetts officials to close the center, have defended its treatment methods as effective for some students.

School officials have also said they have instituted numerous safeguards to prevent a repeat of the Aug. 26 incident, in which two emotionally disturbed students wrongfully received dozens of electrical shocks based on instructions from a caller posing as a supervisor. The incident was caught on 24-hour surveillance tapes, which were shown to investigators last summer. The tapes were subsequently destroyed by school officials, even though investigators had instructed them to preserve the tapes.

After hearing about the destruction of the tapes, Senator Brian A. Joyce, a Democrat from Milton who has sought to ban shock therapy at the school, said he intended to ask the attorney general's office to look into the matter.

Judge Rotenburg School Destroyed Video It Was Ordered to Preserve of Students Being Shocked

As Reported in The Boston Globe, via the Raw Story Weblog. It seems that the tape was intentionally destroyed because it was incriminating.

A special education school destroyed videotape showing two of its students being wrongly given electric shock treatments despite being ordered to preserve the tape, according to an investigator's report.

One student was shocked 77 times and the other 29 times after a prank caller posing as a supervisor ordered the treatments at a Judge Rotenberg Educational Center group home in August. The boys are 16 and 19 years old and one was treated for first-degree burns.

The Disabled Persons Protection Commission planned to release the report Tuesday concluding that one of the teenagers was severely physically and emotionally abused by the treatments. The commission has referred the case to the Norfolk district attorney's office.

The videotapes compiled footage from cameras inside the home in Stoughton. An investigator with the commission, which examines abuse allegations and can refer cases for criminal prosecution, viewed the tapes and asked for a copy, according to the commission's report obtained by The Boston Globe.

But school officials declined, saying they "did not want any possibility of the images getting into the media." The investigator told the school to preserve a copy so state police could use it in their criminal investigation. A trooper later told the investigator the tapes had been destroyed.

School spokesman Ernest Corrigan said school officials worried the images would be leaked to the public, further disrupting the lives of the two students who were wrongly shocked.

Earlier this week, the school's founder and director Matthew Israel said the tapes were reviewed by several investigators and were not preserved because the investigation "seemed to be finished."

The Judge Rotenberg Center is the only one in the nation that uses shock treatments for its special education students, most of whom are mentally retarded, autistic or emotionally disturbed.

Parents praise the shock therapy as the only treatment that has helped their children, but critics say it's abusive and often administered for only minor infractions. State Sen. Brian Joyce, who has long sought to ban shock therapy from the school, said Israel and his staff should be investigated for obstruction of justice.

"I believe the tape was intentionally destroyed because it was incriminating," said Joyce, a Democrat. "I intend to ask the attorney general to investigate."

Autism Issues at the Judge Rotenburg Center

A YouTube video on Autism Issues at the Judge Rotenburg Center in Canton, Massachusetts. Human rights abuses against autistics are investigated in this docu-short.



Electric Shock is used and Advocated by the Judge Rotenburg Center. We are of the opinion that Electric Shock is cruel and unusual punishment disguised as therapy. We feel that it should be banned.

The Judge Rotenburg Center has 900 employees and annual revenues exceeding $56 million, charges $220,000 a year for each student.

But how dis it get its name?

In 1985, after representations from the National Society for Autistic Children and other advocacy groups, the Massachusetts Office for Children sought to close the Institute. It was allowed to continue operation using aversion therapy under a settlement agreement approved by Chief Judge Ernest Rotenberg, and subsequently became known as the Judge Rotenberg Center.

But what is this thing called aversion therapy?

Until the late 1980s, aversion therapy was administered in the form of spanking with a spatula, pinching the feet, and forced inhalings of ammonia.

Later the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED) was invented to administer painful electric skin-shocks by remote control through electrodes worn against the skin at all times. More conventional treatments such as psychotherapy and psychiatric medication are not provided.

Concerns into the treatment regime prompted investigation by New York City Council[6] and an independent report was commissioned which was critical of both processes and oversight at the facility. In spite of these findings, and the deaths of six students enrolled in the school, the school remains open.

Furthermore, members of the autistic community have expressed great concern that the methods of treatment are ineffective, excessive, and possibly a human rights violation.

Many parents of difficult children are highly supportive of the treatment, especially as they can use the GED on home visits. Said one mother, "[All I have to do is show it to my son and...] he'll automatically comply to whatever my signal command may be, whether it is 'Put on your seatbelt,' or 'Hand me that apple,' or 'Sit appropriately and eat your food,'... It's made him a human being, a civilized human being."

Wonderful, Terrorism as a form of parenting. Kids behaving based on intense fear, not based on education, example, or empathy. Didn't they try this at Abu-Grabe?

All of which sounds like the doctrine of "The beatings will continue until morale improves"

More Examples

Recently, the Center has come under fire thanks to the Mother Jones article "School of Shock, which publicized the questionable treatment used at the the Center.

Dr. Matthew Israel, founder of the JRC, has been known to utilize the GED on children who merely suffer from ADD. The article documents a case in which one of the childcare "professionals" (who don't even possess college degrees) shocked a young girl who sneezed for asking for a tissue.

More severe offenses are punished by strapping the child to the board and shocking them again and again for ten straight minutes. Also, their is a current lawsuit against the center filed by the parents of a former patient.

The Center petitioned the courts to give the plaintiff a court appointed guardian, who authorized the Center to use a GED on the child, thus bypassing parental consent.

Also, although Israel points to the theories of B. F. Skinner as evidence for the effectiveness of aversive therapy, Skinner himself denounced the treatment late in his life.

In light of this new publicity, many activists are now speaking out against the Center. Massachusetts teenagers have formed the group Massachusetts Students United Against the Judge Rotenberg Center, which is based at Brandeis University in Waltham, 20 miles away from the school's Canton campus. Currently, this group, along with others such as the Association of Retarded Citizens, is campaigning for harsher restrictions on the use of aversive therapy.

Massachusetts Investigating Electric Shock at the Rotenburg School

As Reported By the Boston Herald, who devotes entirely too little space to the story abou the Rotten-Burg School. Also covered by WBZ radio, who also have an audio report highlighting the activism at the Brandeis University against the practice.

A legislative committee will examine the use of electric shock treatments on students at a controversial special education school.

Today’s hearing follows a state investigation into an incident last summer at a group home in Stoughton run by the Judge Rotenberg Education Center. Two emotionally disturbed students were wrongly given dozens of shocks after a prank call from a person posing as a supervisor.

The Committee on Children, Families and Individuals with Disabilities is considering a bill that would prohibit aversive therapy and another that would restrict its use.

Psychologists and former Rotenberg employees are among those expected to testify in favor of the legislation. But some parents are scheduled to testify about what they say are the benefits of the therapy.

Massachusetts lets Rotenberg Center use electric shock as punishment for children for one year

When is this state going to come to its senses? Another case where the superstition continues that electric shock is good for the Human Brain. Of course, they are so lacking in imagination that they say they can't think of any other possible thing that might be therapeutic or helpful.

In a similar fashion, it is my opinion that it would be a good idea if the staff and directors each received shocks identical to the ones the are responsible for giving to the children, proportionate to body weight. And of course, the director would get shocked the most.

As reported in the Boston Globe

State authorities have given a controversial special education school in Canton a one-year extension of its authority to use electric shock treatments on students, provided the center makes a series of significant changes.
more stories like this

Among them, the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center must prove that it uses shock treatments only for the most dangerous and self-destructive behaviors and that the aversive therapy actually led to a reduction of those harmful actions.

The center must also stop electric shocks for "seemingly minor infractions," such as getting out of a seat without approval or swearing. And it must show greater commitment to phasing out shock treatments, especially for those about to leave the school to enter mainstream society.

Past reauthorizations have been for two years, rather than the one year given this time.

Jean McGuire, assistant secretary of the state's Office of Health and Human Services, said the state has issued this conditional reauthorization well aware of the events last August in which two teenagers wrongfully received dozens of electrical shocks at the direc tion of a caller posing as a supervisor. The caller told staff to wake up the teenagers and give them dozens of shocks each based on alleged behavior that had occurred at least five hours earlier.

McGuire said the center has promised to eliminate delayed punishments and end the delivery of shocks to students who are sleeping. While the school's critics want the state to ban any form of shock treatment, McGuire said the state also had to consider the many parents who defend the school as the only effective place for their hard-to-teach youngsters.

School spokesman Ernest Corrigan said he believes the one-year authorization is a sign of the state's continuing faith in the school. He said that many of the state's top psychologists and physicians were involved in the state's inspections of the school this year and that their decision to recommend conditional reauthorization of shock treatment is a "reaffirmation of some of the good work" at the school.

Critics of the Rotenberg Center expressed disappointment that state officials, especially in light of the August episode, did not order the school to end the shock treatment program, which critics consider ineffective and inhumane.

"The state needed to go further," said Leo Sarkissian, executive director of The Arc of Massachusetts, a group representing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The provisional reauthorization was given by the Department of Mental Retardation, which is responsible for overseeing the shock therapy program. The Rotenberg Center is the only school in the nation that depends so heavily on shock treatments for its students, most of whom are autistic, mentally retarded, or have serious emotional problems.

According to the report, the school has about 250 students, nearly all of whom attend the center's Canton school and live in one of its 38 group homes in nearby communities. Two-thirds are minors; the rest are adults. Roughly one-third are from Massachusetts. About 60 percent of all students have court-approved plans that allow for shock treatment.

In the reauthorization, state officials criticized the center for producing generic-looking treatment and assessment plans for the students, seemingly using a common template for many of them.

They also said the center failed to consider circumstances that may have provoked an offending behavior or to reduce those triggering situations.

One student observed by inspectors looked bored sorting Popsicle sticks. This boredom, the report found, may "serve to lower the threshold for engaging in inappropriate behaviors," thus triggering a potential punishing shock.

McGuire said the state plans to inspect the school next month, as well as repeatedly throughout the year to make sure the required changes are being addressed.

"We're being as aggressive as we can," McGuire said.

Rotenberg Center treats two students with dozens of shocks based on prank telephone call.

As reported in the Boston Globe. Note that they say that no damage was done.

I think that they conveniently overlook any mental damage caused by electric shocks, never mind the injustice of having it administered due to prank telephone calls. In fact, they call this damage therapeutic. Obviously, Rotenberg should be pronounced ROTTEN-berg.

Two special education students at the controversial Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton were wrongfully delivered dozens of punishing electrical shocks in August based on a prank phone call from a former student posing as a supervisor, a state investigative report has found.

School staffers contacted state authorities after they realized they had been tricked on Aug. 26 into delivering 77 shocks to one student and 29 shocks to another, according to Cindy Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Department of Early Education and Care, which drafted the report. Both students were part of a Rotenberg-run group home in Stoughton for males under age 22.

The Judge Rotenberg center, which serves about 250 adults and children from across the country, has been under fire for more than two decades for its unorthodox behavior-modification treatments, including electric shock treatments. Its defenders say that the school takes in troubled students, some with self-damaging behavior, who have been rejected by other schools. The center, which Massachusetts officials have tried twice to close because of its treatment methods, focuses on serving people with autism, mental retardation, and emotional problems.

Ernest Corrigan, a spokesman for the Rotenberg center, said the school contacted law enforcement "within hours" after discovering the prank, and that such an incident has never before happened at the school. Corrigan said they have instituted new safeguards to prevent such occurrences. He also said that while the school regrets the incident, the two male students who received the wrongful shocks did not experience any serious physical harm and did not need medical treatment afterwards.

The shock devices, which are strapped to some students' arms, legs, or torsos, deliver two-second electric jolts to the skin. The devices are controlled remotely by teachers.

State officials said the identity of the prankster is known to law enforcement authorities, but they would not release his name publicly and he has not been arrested. The identity of the staffer who was fooled into administering the shocks has also not been released. State officials indicated that some disciplinary action took place, though they would not specify what it was.

According to records from the Disabled Persons Protections Commission hotline phone log, there are repeated complaints about the incident. One entry said "the caller claimed that the shocks were approved, however, they were not."

Based on the prankster's call, one of the students was also wrongfully placed in four-point restraints, limiting mobility of all four limbs.

Critics of the Rotenberg school say the case shows that school officials have failed to live up to their public promises to deliver electric shocks only sparingly and with great oversight.

"This shows a systemic breakdown at the center," said Leo Sarkissian, executive director of ARC of Massachusetts, which represents people with cognitive and developmental disabilities. "It only takes a phone call to instigate shocks to this degree."

Top officials in New York and Washington, D.C., where many of the center's students originate, have called for a stop to the controversial shock treatments at the school.

Yesterday, in a prepared statement, state Senator Brian Joyce called on officials to more strictly limit and regulate the use of shock therapy in the state.

"This incident is horrifying and it would be immoral for the Legislature and the Executive branch not to react strongly and swiftly," Joyce said.

Corrigan, the spokesman for the center, said he is confident the August case will not be repeated, and he hopes this episode "will not be used to overshadow the good work that we do for those who have no where else to go."

Rotenberg 'School of Shock' Doctor Defends Electric Shock for Kids, While Mother Jones Exposes His Lies Yet Again

Following the recent expose in Mother Jone's Magazine, Doctor Matthew Israel has been given the opportunity to defend himself and the psychiatric practices used at the Rotenburg School via a long and detailed letter published in Mother Jones itself. This is far too long to publish here, but suffice it to say the Doctor feels he was the victim of a smear job, dishonest journalism, etc.

Mother Jones has done him a great service in publishing his letter, but he has not gotten away scot free. They have responded to his letter by pointing out his own most damaging errors of fact, and standing their ground regarding continuous his moral lapses. You can see the Mother Jones editorial response below, as published online here

We applauded Mother Jones for the original expose, and continue in our own low opinion of the "Rotten-Berg" School of Electric Pain. We persist in our claim that the school should be labeled the Rotten-Berg School. Here are links to our own earlier reports on the story:

• Controversy resurfaces over use of electric shock treatment at Rotten-Berg school
  
• It really should be Rotten-Berg Center
  
• Dr. Matt Israel of the Rotenberg Center and his Electric Shock Program for Kids
  
• Shock treatment sought for autistic man
  
• Inspector general says school that uses shock therapy overcharged
  
• N.Y. report denounces school which punishes troubled and disabled students with electric shocks
  
• State investigates 7 at Canton, MA, school

Here is the Mother Jones Response to psychiatrist Israel's letter:

EDITORS' RESPONSE TO MATTHEW ISRAEL REGARDING "SCHOOL OF SHOCK"

THE USE OF SKIN SHOCK

In support of JRC's use of skin shock, Israel and his defenders stress the violent and self-abusive behavior of some students, and argue that those students have not benefited from other forms of treatment. Israel writes: "It is well documented in scientific articles and in court findings that some special needs children and adolescents have behaviors that are so self-abusive, aggressive or destructive as to be life-threatening and self-maiming."

The facts:

The use of skin shock is not restricted to such "low functioning" students. A report of an investigation by the New York State Education Department states: "JRC employs a general use of Level III aversive behavioral interventions [which include skin shock] to students with a broad range of disabilities, many without a clear history of self-injurious behaviors. JRC employs a general use of Level III aversive behavioral interventions to students for behaviors that are not aggressive, health dangerous or destructive.".…

THE DEATH OF A STUDENT

Israel writes:

"Ms. Gonnerman discusses California student Danny Aswad's death as though it had something to do with JRC or me. It did not. JRC had ceased its operations in California a year or two prior to his death which was from natural causes."

The facts:

According to the 1982 complaint filed by the State of California, this student was in the care of Behavior Research Institute at the time of his death. The complaint states that the student died while in restraints that kept him flat on his stomach in bed, and had been restrained on numerous occasions over the preceding seven months, despite the fact that such restraint was "contraindicated" because he suffered from a circulatory disorder.

Dr. Israel helped found Behavior Research Institute in California, which was a branch of the entity by the same name that he founded in Rhode Island (later renamed as JRC). Dr. Israel was a consultant to Behavior Research Institute at or at least shortly before the time the student died. Dr. Israel has previously defended the Behavior Research Institute, saying that the death was not the result of treatment.

DR. IWATA'S VISIT

Israel writes:

"Her statement that Dr. Iwata has visited the Rotenberg Center is false."

The facts:

Dr. Iwata visited the Rotenberg Center to review its practices at the request of Massachusetts officials. A copy of the report he wrote in 1995 was obtained by Mother Jones. At the time, the Rotenberg Center was still located in Rhode Island, but it already employed the skin shock aversive treatment that it still uses today.

SOCIALIZING AND ISOLATION

Israel writes:

"Ms. Gonnerman incorrectly states that the only time that JRC students can socialize freely is in the Big Reward Store. This is not true. There are many other places where students can socialize with each other such as on the playground, on field trips, at their residences, etc."

The facts:

In an interview with Jennifer Gonnerman, Dr. Israel stated: "We need to marshal every possible reward you can find to reward desired behavior. So even opportunities for some of the high functioning students to socialize with other students or staff, instead of those being routinely provided, those actually have to be earned. Everything you want has to be earned."

The report by the New York State Education Department states: "During five observations involving a total of 59 students, there were no instances of students socializing with other students and only five instances observed of students socializing with staff. Social interactions between students reportedly occur in the Big Reward Store where students go to select a reward for keeping contracts. When questioned about friendships and social interactions among students, the students interviewed stated that they were unable to socialize in a natural way."

Israel writes:

"The title page contains the word 'Isolation.' Isolation is never used as a punishment at JRC."

The facts:

Again, Dr. Israel himself has confirmed that some students must earn the opportunity to socialize with other students or staff. A report of an investigation by the New York State Education Department says that students may be restrained on four-point restraint boards or in chairs "for extensive periods of time (e.g. hours or intermittently for days)." Students are sometimes confined to "conference rooms," which in some cases isolate them from everyone except a single staff member.

FOOD DEPRIVATION

Israel writes:

"The title page contains the phrase 'Food Deprivation.' Food deprivation is never used as a punishment at JRC."

The facts:

According to JRC, about 10 percent of the students are in a "Contingent Food Program" or a "Specialized Food Program." These programs require students to meet behavioral requirements in order to earn food. The New York State Education Department report says that students must "earn" meals by not displaying certain behaviors, and that if they do not they are "made to throw a predetermined caloric portion of their food into the garbage."

Students in the Contingent Food Program are given "make-up meals" at the end of each day, but according to JRC "make-up food is deliberately intended to be an unattractive option." Students in the Specialized Food Program do not receive "make-up food" unless they have eaten less than 26 percent of their normal daily caloric target. These programs are part of the court-approved treatment plans for the students, and students' weight is monitored. The program is altered or suspended if the student drops below a certain weight.

According to the New York State Education Department report, "The Contingent Food Program and Specialized Food Program may impose unnecessary risks affecting the normal growth and development and overall nutritional/health status of students subjected to this aversive behavior intervention."

USE OF OTHER THERAPIES BEFORE SHOCK TREATMENT

Israel writes:

"Before JRC uses aversives with any student, positive and educative procedures are tried for an average of 11 months to try to change serious problematic behaviors."

The facts:

The article does not assert that other treatments are not tried before aversives are used. However, according to the New York State Education Department report, "JRC may decide prior to a student's acceptance into the program that he/she requires aversive procedures based on historical and current behavioral information provided by parents, the CSE and other records/reports." In addition, in some cases, "the use of aversive procedures may be a condition of the student's acceptance and continued enrollment in the program." Letters from parents of students at JRC appear to support these findings.

SAFEGUARDS

Israel writes:

"There are many safeguards at JRC to make sure that the skin-shock procedure is used carefully, professionally and properly. They include prior parental consent, prior individualized court authorization (the judge appoints an attorney to represent the child's interests in this process), prior approval by a Human Rights Committee and a Peer Review Committee, clearance from a physician and a psychiatrist to insure that there are no medical contraindications, etc."

The facts:

The article discusses parental and court consent, and expressly reports that court approval is required in all cases. (Attorneys who have represented students in approval proceedings have told Mother Jones that court approval is routinely granted, sometimes over their objections.) The article doesn't suggest that other safeguards are not also employed in deciding to use or in monitoring the use of skin shock treatment.

However, some of the procedures are apparently required as the result of JRC's settlement with the State of Massachusetts, and according to the New York State Education Department report "the integrity of the behavioral programming at JRC is not sufficiently monitored by appropriate professionals at the school and in many cases the background and preparation of staff is not sufficient to oversee the intensive treatment of children with challenging emotional and behavioral problems."

FADING OUT SKIN SHOCK TREATMENT

Israel writes:

"As time goes on, many [students] are able to graduate completely from needing this ]skin shock] therapy."

The facts:

Data provided by Israel indicates that 43% of school-age students are receiving skin shocks, while only 3% percent have "graduated" or been "faded off" the shock devices. Among adult residents, 85% are attached to the shock device, while only 6% have been "faded off."

According to the New York State Education Department report, "JRC's policy states: ‘GED fading will not occur until the student has gone a minimum of one year with no major behaviors.' . . . The criterion of one year without a 'major disruptive behavior' is extremely long and is not determined based on the circumstances for each individual student. . . . Many NYS students remain on the GED for the entire time they attend the center."

Controversy resurfaces over use of electric shock treatment at Rotten-Berg school

It seems that the Mother Jones article on the curriculum of electric shock therapy at the Judge Rotenburg School in Canton, Massachusetts has had an impact, inspiring the possibility of state legislative action. Of Course, we had reported on the story when it first appeared, and it seems that it has made some traction.

Massachusetts state senator Brian A. Joyce, interviewed for the Mother Jones story, has circulated a copy of the piece to every state legislator and is working to push up hearings, originally scheduled for January 2008, on existing legislation that would curb the use of the skin shock device and create a regulatory commission.

Here is the report from the Boston Globe, as well as a link to the Mother Jones blog followup

An investigative magazine article dubbing a Canton-based institution the "school of shock" has reignited efforts to pass legislation limiting the facility's use of skin shock and aversive therapy.

State legislators say the report in the September edition of Mother Jones has refocused the controversy surrounding the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center, believed to be the only school in the country that gives children electric shocks as a form of treatment.

The 230-student facility treats children with autism, mental retardation, and emotional problems.

Senator Brian A. Joyce of Milton and Representative John W. Scibak of South Hadley are trying to move up hearings, now slated for January, on legislation that would limit aversive therapy to extreme cases of violent or self-injurious behavior, such as head banging or eye gouging, and create a special commission to regulate it.

Matt Israel, founder of the Rotenberg Center, acknowledges the controversy surrounding the use of shock therapy, but says the practice is crucial to treat severe mental illnesses. Israel said it is unfair of legislators to characterize the school's practices as unfettered because it is regulated by the Department of Mental Retardation, Department of Education, and Department of Early Education and Care, as well as judges in individual cases.

The Judge Rotenberg Center, which has students from at least seven states, is in Joyce's district. He said his staff has spent hundreds of hours researching the facility and its practices, including claims by critics that children are often shocked for relatively minor infractions such as cursing or speaking out of turn - behavior that, he said, is typical of most adolescents.

"The bottom line is, we have to protect some of the most vulnerable citizens in our society," Joyce said. "We need to eliminate or severely limit any future application of this barbaric treatment on innocent children."

Aversive therapy - which uses a system of positive and negative reinforcements based on psychologist B.F. Skinner's behavior modification theory - is banned in 10 states, including Connecticut and Rhode Island. Last year, Joyce filed a budget amendment to ban it in Massachusetts. It passed in the state Senate but not in the House.

Some state legislators, including Representatives Tom Sannicandro of Ashland and Barbara L'Italien of Andover, have denounced the institution's methods as cruel and outdated. Others say there are behaviors and illnesses that warrant shock therapy.

The release of the Mother Jones article is not the first time the Rotenberg Center has come under scrutiny. Massachusetts officials have investigated reports over the years that electric shocks delivered to misbehaving students caused burns on their arms, legs, or torsos. Regulators from New York, where more than half the students come from, have pressed the school to end electric shock.

The facility was also fined last year by the Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure for falsely representing employees as licensed psychologists.

Israel told the Globe he thought the Mother Jones article, written by freelancer Jennifer Gonnerman, did a poor job of explaining the school's mission. He said that negative reinforcement for seemingly harmless behaviors is sometimes necessary for treatment, and that the article depicted certain incidents out of context.

"Sometimes in treating a behavior, you'll notice that it changes its form as it decreases in frequency," Israel said. "If you are treating someone who pulls hair out to the point of baldness, you'll pay attention when they are even pulling, tugging, or touching their hair. It may look innocuous, but if you don't treat it at that point in time, it will grow back to its original form."

"There are many well-intentioned people who oppose this form of therapy because they are unwilling to weigh the intrusiveness of it against the benefits," he said. "Just like any medical or dental procedure, you have to weigh the benefits and the risks."

[...]

Just how much pain the shocks cause is a matter of some disagreement.

Sannicandro, who sits on the Legislature's Joint Committee for Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, said he tested the shock treatment himself and compared it to being electrocuted.

"It was unbelievable pain that felt like it was going on forever," said Sannicandro, who has a 23-year-old son with Down syndrome. "I can't imagine subjecting my child to this. It would be like living in a hell."

The Mother Jones article described an environment where teachers were fearful of being attacked and of losing their jobs for not shocking students enough.

Gregory Miller, who worked as a Rotenberg Center teacher's assistant from 2003 to 2006, told the Globe that most teachers found the work unbearable. As a result, there was a high turnover rate, he said.

"You could just hear echoes of screams coming down the halls, all day long," said Miller, who will testify in favor of Joyce's bills. "The stress levels were incredible because every time someone jumped up from being shocked, everyone would scream as a reaction and in turn they would be shocked. It's dangerous to think of the level of stress caused by that constant fear."

Joyce said he has already gotten reaction from people who have read the Mother Jones article, and he is confident the bills to restrict the practice will pass before the end of this year.

"This Skinner pseudo-science from 50 years ago is not appropriate today," said Joyce. "It is curious that we don't inflict such punishment on serial killers or child molesters."

It really should be Rotten-Berg Center

The Technology weblog BoingBoing has picked up on the Mothers Jone expose of the electric shock treatment featured at the RotenBerg center. (Link to our own story on this item)

Mother Jones has a long, chilling feature on The Judge Rotenberg Education Center, a private radical behavior-modification school based in Canton, Mass. The school is run by a rogue behaviorist who uses discredited "punishment" techniques -- electroshock -- on children as young as nine to change their personalities. Matthew Israel, the school's $400,000/year executive director, straps homemade, overpowered shock apparatus to children (including severely autistic and retarded kids) and has his staff administer strong shocks for even minor infractions. Some children have been shocked thousands of times a day, and several children have died at the school.

Eight states send troubled children to the school, where "high functioning" kids are "educated" by being sat in front of computers all day, running through automated tutorial programs. Talking, fidgeting, or acting out during this "school" time is punished with shocks. Some kids' shock apparatus misfires, shocking them without any provocation. The staff are instructed to activate the shock apparatus out of sight of the children, so that they can't mentally or physically prepare for it.

The Rotenberg process lacks any kind of scientific basis, and the school uses a 20-year-old film of its "successes" to convince parents to send their children to the program -- however, some of the success stories in the film are still institutionalized at Rotenberg 20 years after their "cure," wheelchair bound and in terrible shape.

Then, in June of 2006, a report produced by the New York State Education Department threatened to destroy the program's carefully cultivated image. A group of investigators, including three psychologists, spent five days at the Rotenberg Center and compiled a 26-page document packed with damning findings.

• Staff shock kids for "nagging, swearing, and failing to maintain a neat appearance" and once threatened to shock a girl who sneezed and then asked for a tissue.
  
• Some students must "earn" meals by not displaying certain behaviors. Otherwise they are "made to throw a predetermined caloric portion of their food into the garbage."
  
• When students enter and leave the school each day, "almost all" are wearing some type of restraints, such as handcuffs or leg shackles.
  
• "Students may be restrained"--on a four-point restraint board or chair--"for extensive periods of time (e.g. hours or intermittently for days)."
  
• Some students are shocked while strapped to the restraint board.
  
• A "majority" of employees "serving as classroom teachers" are "not certified teachers."
  
• Rotenberg's marketing reps bestow presents on prospective families--"e.g. a gift bag for the family, basketball for the student."
  
• Although the center has described its shock device as "approved" by the fda in its promotional materials, it "has not been approved."
  
• The facility collects "comprehensive data" on behaviors it seeks to eliminate, but "there was no evidence of the collection of data on replacement or positive behaviors."
  
• The facility makes no assessment of the "possible collateral effects of punishment such as depression, anxiety, and/or social withdrawal."

Inspector general says school that uses shock therapy overcharged

As reported in the Boston Herald. The therapy, known as aversion therapy, has been held by many to be nothing more than than a slick form of "punishment therapy", and no better than inflicting pain on the kids to make them behave. The irony is that parents can have their children removed for spanking them, yet here psychiatrists are getting paid to inflict pain. There must be a market for professional torturers

State agencies and about 20 Massachusetts school districts may be able to recoup about $800,000 paid to a school known for its use of shock therapy to treat children with severe behavioral and mental problems, the state’s inspector general said in a letter Thursday.

Inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan’s determination comes after the Judge Rotenberg Education Center in Canton said in October it would stop referring to staff members as psychologists if they have not been licensed with the state. School officials said the 13 staff members who claimed to be psychologists had substantial training in the field and immediately changed their titles to ”clinician” after the state pointed out the problem.

Sullivan said in the letter to the Department of Mental Retardation that while the title has changed, reimbursements rates have not. He said that during a five-year period the school budgeted and received from the state nearly $2.1 million for the position of ”psychologist-doctorate.”

”According to psychologists this office has spoken with, reimbursement rates differ significantly between licensed psychologists and unlicensed clinicians with knowledge of and/or a degree in psychology,” Sullivan wrote.

Sullivan said his staff estimated the state was overcharged nearly $400,000 on all state contracts since 2002. He suggested the department work with other state agencies to recover the money.

About 20 school districts in the state also may be entitled to reimbursements equal to or greater than $400,000 - or about $14,000 per enrolled student, he wrote.

A message left after business hours by The Associated Press at the school was not immediately returned.

School officials have said repeatedly that the shock therapy is about as painful as a bee sting, just enough of a jolt to prevent the severely disabled students from hurting themselves or other students. Critics say some children have been burned by the shocks.

N.Y. report denounces school which punishes troubled and disabled students with electric shocks

Students can be shocked for behaviors including 'failure to maintain a neat appearance', 'stopping work for more than 10 seconds', 'interrupting others', 'nagging', 'whispering and/or moving conversation away from staff', 'slouch in chair' ''From the report:

Many of the students observed at JRC were not exhibiting self-abusive/mutilating behaviors, and their IEPs had no indication that these behaviors existed. However, they were still subject to Level III aversive interventions, including use of the GED device. The review of NYS students' records revealed that Level III interventions are used for behaviors including 'refuse to follow staff directions', 'failure to maintain a neat appearance', 'stopping work for more than 10 seconds', 'interrupting others', 'nagging', 'whispering and/or moving conversation away from staff', 'slouch in chair', as well as more intensive behaviors such as physical aggression toward others, property destruction and attempts to hurt/injure self. ...

It was reported by a JRC staff member that one of the behavioral rehearsal lesson (BRL) episodes involved holding a student's face still while staff person went for his mouth with a pen or pencil threatening to stab him in the mouth while repeatedly yelling 'YOU WANT TO EAT THIS?' The goal was to aversively treat the student's target behavior of putting sharp objects in the mouth. ...

One student stated she felt depressed and fearful, stating very coherently her desire to leave the center. She is not permitted to initiate conversation with any member of the staff. She also expressed that she had no one to talk to about her feelings of depression and her desire to kill herself and told the interviewing team that she thought about killing herself everyday. Her greatest fear was that she would remain at JRC beyond her 21st birthday. ...

A student interviewed stated that she had entered JRC at the age of 19 with the expectation that she would receive vocational training while she resolved her emotional and behavioral problems. She had not received any vocational training and still remained in the most restrictive settings offered by JRC. This student wept as she asked the team to bring her back to New York.

New York education officials issued a scathing report yesterday on a Massachusetts school that punishes troubled and disabled students with electric shocks, finding that they can be shocked for simply nagging the teacher and that some are forced to wear shock devices in the bathtub or shower, posing an electrocution hazard. The report, based in part on an inspection last month of the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, portrayed a school in which most staff lack training to handle the students and seem more focused on punishing bad behavior than encouraging good acts. The investigators said some forms of discipline, such as a device that delivers shocks at timed intervals, appear to violate federal safety regulations, and students live in an atmosphere of ``pervasive fears and anxieties."

* Read the report on the Rotenberg Center (.pdf)

The report, denounced by Rotenberg officials as biased, is expected to play a key role next Monday when education regulators in New York are scheduled to vote on whether to severely restrict the use of painful punishment on students from New York.

State investigates 7 at Canton, MA, school

As reported in the Boston Globe, and also seen here

State regulators yesterday launched an investigation of seven employees of the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, part of a broadening inquiry into whether the controversial school for students with special needs has overstated its staff's qualifications to the government agencies that pay the school more than $200,000 per year for each child.

Already, 14 other clinicians at the school -- the only one in the country that routinely uses electric shock to punish misbehavior -- are facing a hearing next month to determine whether they should face criminal charges for calling themselves psychologists when they did not have state licenses. School founder Matthew Israel also is under investigation by the Board of Registration of Psychologists for his role in supervising the unlicensed psychologists.

``We're taking this matter very seriously and intend to investigate it vigorously," said George Weber , director of the Division of Professional Licensure, an agency that includes both the psychology board and the Board of Registration of Social Workers. ``You have to have sufficient training to engage in activities that affect families' lives."

Yesterday, the psychology board opened investigations into two of Israel's top aides for their role in supervising unlicensed psychologists and three more staff members for the unlicensed practice of psychology. Meanwhile, the social workers' board started investigations of two other employees, one for falsely claiming to be a licensed social worker and the other for performing services such as psychological counseling that aren't permitted by his license.

Kenneth Mollins , lawyer for three former Rotenberg students from New York, has asked New York's attorney general to investigate whether the school defrauded the state and school districts there. Mollins, who himself is suing the state of New York for $10 million over treatment of one Rotenberg student, argues that New York isn't getting it s money's worth from the school.

``New York sends students based on what they expect, and the expectation clearly had to be that these students would be instructed by licensed psychologists," Mollins said. ``People came to my clients' homes with . . . tapes that indicated some of these employees were psychologists and would be working with their children, and that is a fraud."

Officials at the school deny that they have misrepresented anyone's qualifications, noting that the people who claimed to be psychologists had substantial training in the field. They also note that they immedately changed the title of unlicensed psychologists to the more generic clinician after the state pointed out the mistake last month.

``There is not one shred of evidence that anybody did anything intentionally or anybody was defrauded," said Michael Flammia , attorney for the school, which is often a last resort for students with autism, mental retardation, or emotional problems.

The broadening investigation comes on the heels of a report on student safety from investigators in New York, where two-thirds of the center's students come from, that was critical of the school. The New York Education Department found that children are often given shocks for minor misbehavior, such as swearing, and that some students are kept in physical restraints for long periods or denied food. The report said staff training is insufficient, and called for the school to make drastic changes or risk losing students from New York. That state's education regulators are scheduled to vote Monday on whether to sharply restrict the use of painful punishments on students from New York.

In response to the New York findings, two Massachusetts education agencies promised to conduct their own investigation of conditions at the Rotenberg school. ``There is no question that this is a very disturbing report," said Heidi Perlman , spokeswoman for the Department of Education, which will carry out the investigation along with the Department of Early Education and Care.

Yesterday, Rotenberg officials fired back with a 74-page response to New York officials that says their report was ``completely inaccurate."

Though half the 250 students do wear shock devices, school officials point out that the treatment is approved in each case both by the parents and a probate court judge and overseen by psychological consultants.

Rotenberg officials said the New York investigators left out information showing how much the shock treatment had helped children .

Controversy surrounding the school has been heating up since March when a New York teenager accused teachers of torturing him. This year, the number of abuse complaints against the center has skyrocketed to 22.

At least three other complaints under investigation allege that students suffered serious burns as a result of electric shocks. Rotenberg officials say the shocks leave only a small red mark, not a burn.