[blindkid] [Blindtlk] Fw: Mass. school electrocutes blind girl

Mon May 21 22:56:05 UTC 2012

Hi all,
I did some reading up on the Judge Rotenberg Center, the Massachusetts
school where these despicable actions occurred, and I just want to
point out that it's not a school for the blind. It's a residential
program for children with severe behavior problems and/or mental
disabilities. The blind girl who was subjected to this treatment at
the school has CP and is nonverbal, so blindness is the least of her
disabilities. Of course this does not mean we shouldn't be outraged by
what is happening there, but because it doesn't really deal with
blindness at all, it's not something that NOPBC would be able to touch
by itself. I am glad that the United Nations issued a statement
condemning the actions and calling them torture, and I believe some
other disability rights groups are getting involved. I also believe
some positive steps were taken at the school a year or two ago, after
the cases highlighted in the news occurred, to prevent such things
from happening again.
The shocking and other punishments are apparently intended to redirect
children's unwanted behaviors. However, some staff at the school have
really taken things out of hand. Additionally, it seems obvious to me
that for some of these kids, "unwanted" behaviors serve a purpose and
trying to extinguish them with harsh punishments is not only cruel,
but ineffective.
Arielle

On 5/21/12, Sally Thomas <seacknit at gmail.com> wrote:
> Peter,
>
> While I am a big proponent of NOPBC, I think it is a bit naive to think
> that our group could prevent the willful abuse of a child at a school for
> the blind.  The parents of NOPBC groups around the country work hard to
> provide support and information to parents in their state but they
> generally don't have access to the inner workings of state institutions.
>  Even when I was on the Education Advisory Committee at the Texas School
> for the Blind and Visually Impaired I did not have privileged information
> about the day to day actions at the school.
>
> The reason I feel I need to respond to your statements is that I don't want
> new parents to get the idea that NOPBC is some kind of quasi governmental
> watchdog with paid staff people.  We are parents.  Many of us have full
> time jobs "outside the home."  We volunteer hundreds of hours to help blind
> kids and their parents. The key word is volunteer.  It is extremely
> difficult to organize parents and kids with our limited resources of time
> and money.  Even though New Jersey has many strong parents leaders, it took
> the courts to get a blind kid braille!
>
> I admire your faith in our power as parents but I want it to be clear that
> even when we are wearing our SuperParent capes, we can't do it all.
>
> Sally Thomas
>
> On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 10:41 PM, Peter Donahue
> <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com>wrote:
>
>> 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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