The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC) in Canton, Massachusetts is considered a last resort to parents whose "troubled" children have been thrown out of other schools or residential settings for behavioural issues. Such children include those with psychiatric disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, behavioural problems, personality disorders and other special needs. Looking at the splash page of the Center's pleasant website, some of the key features include: "consistent behavioral treatment; no or minimal psychotropic medication; near-zero rejections/near-zero expulsions; powerful, varied rewards; one computer per student; behavior charts online; digital video monitoring; and beautiful school and residences."(1) Looking at the photo tour, JRC is most certainly beautifully decorated and is very pleasing to the eye. Obviously, some top notch decorators were hired to decorate the facility! Judge Rotenberg Educational Centre employs 900 staff, reaps an annual revenue of approximately $56 Million and charges a hefty $220,000.00 per year for each student.(2)
Ethical concerns have arisen about the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center's use of aversives, particularly the use of 2-second skin electric shock. According to the school "If positive and educational procedures alone are not effective, then after trying them for an average of 11 months, we approach the parents to suggest supplementing the rewards with a corrective (aversive) consequence for the problem behavior. If the parent approves, and if we obtain an individualized authorization from a Massachusetts Probate Court, we apply an aversive in the form of a 2-second shock to the surface of the skin, usually on the arm or leg, as a consequence each time the problem behavior occurs."
The school is focused on providing results through its "consistent program of Behavioral therapy". The founder, Matthew Israel, a man who has stirred up controversy since he earned his PhD. in Psychology from Harvard University in 1960 and opened his first treatment facility/school in 1971 was inspired by the studies of B.F. Skinner and Ivor Lovaas. Israel stands by his belief in radical behaviour modification, despite the numerous lawsuits and claims against him and his institutions. The Department of Social Services for the State of California issued a 63-page accusation against Israel in 1982 (3) in order to have his licence to operate his facility, the Behavioral Research Institute of California, revoked because of "violation of statutes or rules and regulations promuglated pursuant to the Community Care Facilities Act and Safety Code Section 1500 et seq." The Social Services Department claimed that a student had died in July of 1981 while being face-down in restraints on his bed and listed the numerous other times this resident was held in restraints. Numerous claims are made with regards to other residents who were injured through other aversive methods including pinching and spanking.
Jennifer Gonnerman, who wrote an expository article for Mother Jones news site about JRC interviewed a former student by the name of Rob Santana, who spent three years at JRC and was one of the students who was treated using the 2-second skin shock method. He reported that he was forced to carry a backpack with five 2-pound devices, each with wires that were connected by electrodes to his skin. He said that he "felt humilated" having to walk around with this backpack with a "bunch of wires coming out of [his] shirt and pants." Rob was forced to wear this device 24 hours a day. When he showered, all except one of the electrodes was removed and he had to hold the arm that the electrode was on out of the shower with an attendant in the room.
JRC assures the public that the "sensation has been compared to a hard pinch with no after-sensation." and has no side effects. No physical side effects anyway. Jennifer Gonnerman tried the GED on herself after being told by the staff that it should hurt no less than a bee sting. "It felt like a horde of wasps attacking me all at once. Two seconds never felt so long." She reported after the experience. Anderson Cooper from CNN also tried the GED for himself and reported that, despite staff claims that it should hurt no more than a pin prick or bee sting, "It hurt far worse than that. Two seconds felt like two minutes." Does it really hurt so much, or does the school have a special setting on their GED device just for journalists? Rob Santana reported that it "hurts like hell", that he still has nightmares about the shock device and still wakes up thinking it is still on him. He freeely admits that he has behaviour problems and still finds his behaviour difficult to control at times.
Marguerite Famolare was also interviewed in Gonnerman's article and has a severely autistic son named Michael, who is a current student of JRC. He apparently had problems controlling his anger and had once attacked her so fiercely that she had to call emergency services. Since attending JRC, he is a lot easier to control. Maguerite carries the shock activator in her purse and can control him just by showing it to him. "He'll automatically comply to whatever my signal command may be." she says. Louisa Goldberg, another interviewee of Gonnerman's and the mother of 25 year-old "severely retarded" Andrew, says that she has found benefit in the school because Andrew no longer has to take psychiatric medications which caused great fatugue for him. His quality of life has improved dramatically now that he is hooked up to the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED), or electric shock device. He no longer is fatigued by his medications since he is no longer taking them. The Graduated Electronic Decelerator gets its name from the fact that intensity and pain of the shocks can be increased gradually as needed.
To the school's credit, there is no secret about its use of aversives and it is made quite clear what parents can expect to happen right from the start. Parents enrolling their children in this school do so with full disclosure and prior knowledge to what sort of methods the school employs in controlling unwanted behaviours. The JRC website does provide a wealth of information in its Introduction to JRC page, to provide parents with answers to their questions, as well as links to published answers to their opponents' claims against the institution. (4) While JRC does post an impressive number of peer-reviewed studies about aversive treatments to support their methodology, many of them were written between 10 and 20 years ago.
In June of 2006, the New York State Education Department sent a team of investigators to JRC to investigate and report on their findings. The 28 page report was not favourable and some findings, such as the ones highlighted below are rather disturbing:
- 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 or behavioural problems.
- JRC employs a general use of Level II aversive behavioral interventions to students for behaviors that are not agressive, health dangerous or destructive, such as nagging, swearing and failing to maintain a neat appearance.
- The use of electric skin shock conditioning devices as used at JRC raises health and safety concerns.
- Some students at JRC are forced to exhibit target behaviors so aversive behavioral interventions can be used.
- JRC promotes a setting that discourages social interaction between staff and students and among students.
- The privacy and dignity of students is compromised in the course of JRC's program implementation.
- The collateral effects (e.g.: increased fear, anxiety or aggression) on students of JRC's punishment model are not adequately assessed, monitored or addressed.
Matt Israel did issue a 73 page rebuttal to this report, claiming that the reviewers were psychologists who were not experienced in the use of aversices, they did not pursue open communication with parents and staff who defend the program and did not announce that they were conducting an investigation on the facility. (6) Israel claimed that the reviewers were "opposed to the use of aversives" and supported what Israel calls "Positive Behavior Support". He claims that JRC does employ positive behavioral support through allowing students to socialize with each other. Apparently, the reviewers found this "offensive". Dr. Brian A. Iwata, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Florida, and a consultant on the development of the Self Injurious Behavior Inhibiting System (SIBIS) which was a device that Israel based his GED on, states that JRC's approach is "dangerously simplistic".
Article 5 of Amnesty International's Universal Declaration of Human Rights States: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment."Is the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center violating the basic human rights of the children and adults under its care?
Dear Reader, I leave the decision up to you.
Resources:
- Judge Rotenberg Educational Center website: http://www.judgerc.org/
- Gonnerman, Jennifer. "School of Shock." Mother Jones online Magazine. August 20, 2007. http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/school_of_shock.html
- State of California Social Services Department "Accusation Against against the Behavior Research Institute of California". Originally published in 1982. Published online by Mother Jones as a supplement to "School of Shock" by Jennifer Gonnerman. Augist 20, 2007. http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/ca_investigation_1982.pdf
- Introduction to JRC. Judge Rotenberg Educational Center Website. August 2007. http://www.judgerc.org/introtojrc.html
- The State Education Department of the University of the State of New York Office of Vocational and Education Services for Individuals With Disabilities: Statewide Coordinator for Special Education. Observations and Findings of Out-Of_State Program Visitation - Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (PDF of the entire report) June 12, 2006. Supplement to "School of Shock" article published on Mother Jones on August 20, 2007. http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/NYSED_2006_investigation.pdf
- Israel, Matthew. JRC Responses to Allegations in NYSED June 9, 2006 Report. Judge Rotenberg Educational Center Website. June 2006. http://www.judgerc.org/ReplytoJuneReport.pdf
- Amnesty International. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. http://web.amnesty.org/pages/aboutai-udhr-eng
