Boston Globe Editorial (Pro JRC)

[Anonymous]

The battle over skin shocks

ON WEDNESDAY, desperate parents begged lawmakers at a State House hearing not to interfere with the work of the controversial Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton. They had reason to be concerned.

Some state lawmakers take a dim view of skin shock treatments at the center, a view that may not be in the best interest of the school's autistic, retarded, and emotionally disturbed students. Even a new bill trumpeted as a compromise by sponsors could undermine treatment programs that many parents view as the best hope against self-destructive and violent behavior by their children. The state Department of Mental Retardation is better qualified than lawmakers to set limits on treatment methods at the center - or decide whether it should operate at all.

The situation is tense. Senator Brian Joyce of Milton, a cosponsor of the bill, is passionate in his belief that the center is not only hurting patients but also manipulating their parents' emotions. Joyce, who can barely disguise his contempt for the center's founder, Matthew Israel, says it is the Legislature's "moral obligation to stop the wholesale application of this so-called aversive therapy." Israel says the bill is just another in a long line of overboard attempts to close his center, which administers brief skin shocks to deter violent behavior by some patients who don't respond to traditional therapies.

The public has reason to be confused about a center that has been embroiled in complex legal battles dating back decades. But the proposed legislation only makes matters worse. It might seem reasonable to pass a law that limits skin shock treatment to cases involving "a clear risk of injury to self or others." But the bill would also bar shocks to treat "minor behavior problems, even if said behaviors are identified as antecedents to targeted challenging behaviors." So, if a disturbed patient is known to rub his head vigorously for several seconds before biting or gouging himself, the shock could not be administered during the "antecedent" behavior, but only at the onset of the actual attack. The whole point of aversive therapy is to discourage the attack before it begins.

Both the patients and public will be best served if the Department of Mental Retardation, which certifies the Rotenberg Center, concentrates fully on the competence of the center to administer the treatment, instead of the treatment itself. There are plenty of reasons to scrutinize the center closely, not the least of which is the questionable quality and training of the workers who administer the shocks. Rotenberg staffers made a mind-blowing error of judgment in August when they shocked two emotionally disturbed students on the phoned-in order of a former patient posing as a medical supervisor. And Rotenberg top officials followed that up with a gross error in judgment, or worse, when they destroyed videotapes of the incident despite a warning not to do so by a state investigator who had viewed the tapes.

If the Rotenberg Center can't do its job consistently and ethically, then DMR should shut it down. But the Legislature shouldn't foreclose the option of skin shock treatment as a last resort for desperate patients.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/edito ... in_shocks/

[Ursus]

I wouldn't necessarily flat out call this "PRO-JRC," although there clearly is some damage control going on. Was this written by a parent? Relative? Perhaps there has even been some "coaching"...

One thing that disturbs me a little -- and it is an undercurrent that I've seen in some of the other more recent articles -- is a subtle preparing of a way to blame it all on the staff.

Mind you, they do have their culpability in all this, but there are some mitigating factors, to be sure... Lack of education, experience, perspective, need of a job, etc... Barring a long term ideologically-based involvement with JRC, I'd be inclined to overlook many of their misdeeds in favor of those committed by the big fish here, who is, after all, the mastermind of this diabolical mess. The onus of responsibility here rests smack on top of Matthew Israel's head.

[Anonymous]

Was this written by a parent? Relative?

The Boston Globe editorial board.

The Boston Globe has been relentless in their defense of JRC.

[Anonymous]

The situation is tense. Senator Brian Joyce of Milton, a cosponsor of the bill, is passionate in his belief that the center is not only hurting patients but also manipulating their parents' emotions. Joyce, who can barely disguise his contempt for the center's founder, Matthew Israel, says it is the Legislature's "moral obligation to stop the wholesale application of this so-called aversive therapy." Israel says the bill is just another in a long line of overboard attempts to close his center, which administers brief skin shocks to deter violent behavior by some patients who don't respond to traditional therapies.

Well, they sure as hell don't like Senator Joyce.

[Nihilanthic]

the Legislature shouldn't foreclose the option of skin shock treatment as a last resort for desperate patients.

THE METRIC SHOULD NOT BE HOW DESPERATE SOME FUCKING IDIOT IS, THE METRIC SHOULD BE EFFECTIVENESS AND ETHICS!

ARGH!