http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/und ... y-20120412Staff at shock school tried to help teen, lawyers sayUpdated: Thursday, 12 Apr 2012, 7:27 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 12 Apr 2012, 6:40 PM EDT
Mike Beaudet
www.twitter.com/channel_mikeKevin Rothstein, Producer[/b]
As dramatic video of an autistic teenager being restrained and shocked draws national attention and brings a call for action here in Massachusetts, lawyers for the Judge Rotenberg Center argued in court Thursday that there’s more to the video than just shocks and restraint.
Lawyers for the center and its doctors grilled a psychiatrist who had testified on plaintiff Andre McCollins’ behalf, asking him why he missed instances where staff asked the autistic 18-year-old if he wanted a drink and a chance to go to the bathroom.
Dr. Marc Whaley testified yesterday that Rotenberg staff did nothing to help McCollins as he lay strapped to a four-point restraint board, face-down, for five-and-a-half hours. He was shocked 31 times in all in the classroom.
Under cross-examination, Whaley admitted he hadn’t seen all eight hours of the tape and had missed interactions between McCollins and the staff.
“So you made the decision then to skip over things in that video?” asked attorney David O’Connor, who represents the Rotenberg Center, its founder, Dr. Matthew Israel and another doctor.
“Sure, I had no problem skipping over things,” Whaley replied.
“And you know when you skip over things on fast forward, there's no audio, correct?” O’Connor asked.
“Right,” Whaley replied.
“You gave testimony before this jury that care providers were not talking to Andre and explaining things to him, correct?” O’Connor said.
“That's correct,” Whaley replied.
“That's not true, is it?” Whaley said.
“Not true completely because we just saw about maybe four instances of sentences being said to him that could be construed as explanations. Relatively inadequate, rather inadequate in my estimation. But we did see some of it so that part is not completely true,” Whaley replied.
Video played on Thursday also showed staff shocking McCollins and then telling him to stop tensing his body, which was the behavior that triggered the shock.
Whaley told the jury yesterday that McCollins was left with permanent damage from the shocks, saying he’s now “heavily medicated, state institutionalized with no immediate prospect of any kind of independent functioning.”
Lawyers for the Center point to medical records they say show McCollins was not permanently damaged, a key point of McCollins’ case.
The drama isn't just playing out in court. Senate President Therese Murray is calling for a state ban on shocks and other aversive therapies. She has the support of the state Senate, but so far not the House.
“I hope the House will look at this, seeing the tapes now, I've seen them before, but seeing what happens to these people and staff maybe laughing or not responding to their cries of help is just deplorable,” she said.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo spoke out about the video, but stopped short of calling for a ban of the shocks, saying in a statement, “Any human being should be horrified by the images shown in the video of Andre McCollins' treatment. As someone who visited the JRC and saw firsthand the struggles these kids face on (a) daily basis, which in many cases manifest themselves in acts of self-torture, burning, cutting and worse, I can say that we need to do everything within our power to ease their pain and suffering.”
The Rotenberg Center also issued a statement pointing out they treat some of the most difficult students in the country, and use these shocks only to treat severe behavior disorders.
The civil trial continues Friday in Norfolk Superior Court, when Andre’s mother is expected to return to the stand.