[Blindtlk] Abuse of Blind Children
Peter Donahue
pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com
Tue May 22 18:43:06 UTC 2012
Hello Steve and everyone,
While I can't speak for repressive agencies in other states I have been
assured that the Boston Center for Blind Children no longer exists. They're
no longer able to do their "Dirty work" on the blind children in that
state.I read that the JRC is not specifically for the blind. It's just sad
that a few blind children were placed there; something that officials in
Massachusetts and other states could have prevented.
The Perkins School for the Blind enjoys a favorable reputation with its
students, staff, and alumni and never had a record of abusing blind students
although they could have done things to prevent students with behavioral
issues from being bounced around from one institution to another as I was.
Rather than "Expelling" me after my kindergarten year they could have told
my mother what was observed by the staff who delt with me and suggested that
I have medical and psychological evaluations during the summer of 1964. A
diagnosis could have been made and treatment begun before I returned to
Perkins that fall something that never happened.If Perkins followed the
aabove course of action they would have protected myself and others from the
kind of abuse we experienced at the hands of these tyrants! Had there been
IEPS or the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children and strong
NFB Affiliates our parents could have reached out to for support and to
advocate on our behalffor a more favorable outcome and to prevent what
happened to us back then.
One thing Chapter 766 did in the early 1970s is that it gave places like
Perkins a "Wake-up" call. This is the ancestor to the Education of the
Handicapped Act that among other things mandated that disabled students
attend public schools rather than specialized schools for them. Perhaps
fearing that they would be without students to teach Perkins readmitted
students dismissed in the 1960s including myself in the fall of 1973. The
events concerning my transfer back to Perkins from the Oak Hill School for
the Blind are commonly referred to in my family as "The 1973 Uprising."
While other parents we knew questioned our wish to "dare to take on the
powers that be" in the end we didn't care. Perkins came clean with us and it
felt good to see those tyrants finally "Get theirs!" I graduated from
Perkins in 1975.
It's obvious from reading this thread that I was not alone. While our
affiliates should not serve as a "Police force" to insure that agencies for
the blind in cluding schools for the blind are doing the right thing they
can reach out to parents and guardians of blind children and youth
considering placement in such a facility upon request. This is something
we've said for years. Sharing accounts of this kind will help them formulate
questions to ask when considering such placements to insure tomorrows blind
youngsters will not be subjected to the same abuse we experienced while
growing up. If we can keep that from happening we will have done our job.
Peter Donahue
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Jacobson"
<steve.jacobson at visi.com>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>; <blinddog3 at charter.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 11:51 AM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Fw: Mass. school electrocutes blind girl
Hi,
I may have missed something, but at least some of what I read seemed to have
occurred some time ago.
That doesn't make what was done right by any means, but do we know what the
current state is?
Best regards,
Steve Jacobson
On Mon, 21 May 2012 18:39:46 -0500, Steven Johnson wrote:
>Ray,
>The unfortunate part of this whether true or not, is that children are
>vulnerable, and even more so, children with disabilities even more
>vulnerable. There are way too many cases where children are restrained,
>abused, neglected or punished in cruel and unusal ways. If this story is
>indeed true, lets hope that Mass Department of Human Services along with
>the
>NFB can intervene.
>Steve
>-----Original Message-----
>From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>Behalf Of Ray Foret Jr
>Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 10:51 AM
>To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Fw: Mass. school electrocutes blind girl
>Well well well, I just cannot believe this!!! I just can't figure in my
>mind how someone could abuse blind kids. Then again, I shouldn't be one to
>talk; considering the fact that I was almost strangled to death in my
>dormitory room. Were it not for a cousin who was living in Baton Rouge at
>the time and who took me in, I would most likely have had to move to
>another
>state and gone to another blind school and goodness knows what all might
>have happened then.
>Sincerely,
>The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
>Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!
>Skype name:
>barefootedray
>Facebook:
>facebook.com/ray.foretjr.1
>On May 21, 2012, at 10:18 AM, Gloria Whipple wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> When my twin brother and I were attending the state school for the blind
>in Vancouver, My brother and other needy children were tied to hot
>radiators
>by one of the house parents.
>>
>> One of our fellow students got into a lot of trouble freeing them.
>>
>> Sorry for rambling on, but this kind of stuff angers me!
>>
>> Gloria Whipple
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> On Behalf Of Peter Donahue
>> Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 07:42
>> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>> Cc: NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Fw: Mass. school electrocutes blind girl
>>
>> Good morning everyone,
>>
>> I'm originally from Massachusetts and am troubled to learn that if
>> indeed this is true a place like this still exists. There was an
>> outfit located in Jamaica Plane called the Boston Center for Blind
>> Children which although they didn't use electric shock to punish
>> students they used many other harsh methods such as holding someone in
>> a take-down by lying them on their stomachs, pulling their hands
>> behind their backs and sitting on them for what seemed like hours at a
>> time. I know because it happened to me for three long years. Other
>> harsh and abusive methods were used on occasion as well. If the JRC is
>> the successor to the Boston Center For Blind Children it's a shame
>> that this place is still in business. They should have been convicted of
>child abuse/endangerment and shut down many years ago.
>>
>> This is all the more the reason to establish strong NOPBC
>> Affiliates in all 50 states including Massachusetts. It's better to
>> have a national network of parents of blind children to set the
>> standards for how blind kids are educated, and to serve as a
>> "Watch-dog" to ensure that outfits like the BCBC and the JRC are put
>> out of business so they will never harm another blind child!
>>
>> While I would like to believe that this is not true as one who
>> personally experienced such abusive treatment by so-called schools for
>> the blind in Massachusetts it doesn't surprise me that an outfit like
>> this exists.
>>
>> Peter Donahue who hopes and prays that there will soon be an affiliate
>> of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children in
>> Massachusetts to truly create a future full of possibilities for blind
>kids in the Bay State.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
>> To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
>> Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 6:26 AM
>> Subject: [Blindtlk] Fw: Mass. school electrocutes blind girl
>>
>>
>> I am passing this along in hopes that all will sign. This is just
>> unbelievable. Even my County Disability Coordinator shared this. Thanks.
>>
>> Sherri
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Samme.Ripley at ocfl.net
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 12:06 PM
>> Subject: FW: Mass. school electrocutes blind girl
>>
>>
>> Sharing........this video can be very compelling for those familiar
>> with electric shocking of disabled students in past years.
>>
>>
>>
>> .Samme
>>
>>
>>
>> From: Sherri [mailto:flmom2006 at gmail.com]
>> Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2012 6:00 PM
>> To: Ripley, Samme
>> Subject: Fw: Mass. school electrocutes blind girl
>>
>>
>>
>> Do you know anything about this? This is outrageous if it's true!
>>
>>
>>
>> Sherri
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>> From: Jon Perri, Change.org
>>
>> To: flmom2006 at gmail.com
>>
>> Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2012 4:39 PM
>>
>> Subject: Mass. school electrocutes blind girl
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> VIDEO: Special needs student electroshocked. Tell his
>> Massachusetts school to stop using electroshock devices on children.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sign Gregory's Petition
>>
>>
>>
>> Sherri -
>>
>> In 2002, a special needs student named Andre McCollins was
>> allegedly strapped down and electrocuted for hours, leaving him with
>> permanent brain damage, all because he refused to take off his jacket.
>> The people torturing Andre were officials at his school. You can watch
>> what happened on video.
>>
>> The video was shot at a Massachusetts school for special
>> needs kids called the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC). Gregory Miller
>> used to be a teacher there, and he says electrocuting kids as
>> punishment is extremely common -- even for minor offenses like raising
>> your hand to go to the bathroom.
>>
>> "A non-verbal, nearly blind girl with cerebral palsy was
>> shocked for attempts to hold a staff member's hand -- her attempts to
>> communicate and to be loved," Gregory says.
>>
>> Gregory desperately wants to help the kids at the JRC -
>> that's why he started a petition on Change.org demanding that the JRC
>> stop using electroshock to punish kids. Click here to add your name.
>>
>> Gregory says the JRC's founder created electroshock devices
>> which are even stronger than police stun guns to punish students for
>> bad behavior. An official at the United Nations said that using these
>> devices on children is considered torture.
>>
>> According to the Boston Globe, the JRC's founder resigned
>> after being charged with misleading a grand jury by destroying video
>> footage of other students being shocked.
>>
>> Gregory believes that if thousands of people sign his
>> petition, his former bosses will capitulate in the intense pressure
>> generated by a national spotlight.
>>
>> Click here to sign Gregory's petition demanding that the
>> JRC immediately cease its practice of punishing special needs kids
>> with electroshock devices.
>>
>> Thanks for being a change-maker,
>>
>> - Jon and the Change.org team
>>
>> This email was sent by Change.org to flmom2006 at gmail.com |
>> Start a petition
>> Unsubscribe. Edit your email notification settings.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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