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By Denise Powell, MD Candidate
(BOSTON) – A Massachusetts School for Children with Special Needs may continue to use a form of shock therapy on students after a long battle with government officials State of Controversial Treatment
The Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton is the only learning center in the country to use the graduated electronic decelerator to control the behavior of students with developmental delays.
The Commonwealth had been trying since 2013 to ban but last week Judge Katherine Fields, first judge of the Bristol County Estates and Family Court, sided with the school .
The school did not respond to a request for comment. Group of parents, who said in a statement, "No one loves our children more than us; we have tried and continue to try everything that is available to them, including positive behavioral therapies and therapies. Medications to help our children, but the court concluded that there is no evidence that an alternative treatment would be effective in treating our children and keeping them safe.
What Is the Treatment?
According to the FDA, GED is used for "aversive conditioning." It is a psychology term meaning to give a negative stimulation whenever a particular unwanted action occurs. For example, people put a rubber band around their wrist and "snap it" whenever they have a cigarette, the goal is that the behavior will eventually be eliminated because of the l? association.
GED works by delivering skin shocks for particular behaviors, trying to eliminate behaviors.
The CCR parent group told ABC News: a treatment of last resort. This is the important part to know about GED. "
In which case is it used?
At the CCR, electric shocks associated with GED are used to prevent and control aggression or violent aggression. skin shock can be used when the patient is aggressive against someone else (hitting, biting or throwing things), or even against himself (hitting his head against a wall or trying to hurt himself) In another way)
"There is a process that the committee follows where the therapy is peer reviewed to see what has been tried and what has worked. have been dealing with these issues for 15 years, there are times when kids are attacking their own parents, and for people who think it does not interest us, it's not that, but it's a option when all else fails, "said the parent group of the CCR.
Is this painful? [19659002] GED is not the same thing as Electroconvulsive Therapy (ETC), which is when the electricity volts are directed to the brain to treat depression. However, it produces painful shocks to the skin to condition patients with autism or behavioral disorders to stop a certain behavior or action.
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Slow down the aggressive or inappropriate behavior of the student, it is a management technique, not something that will address the underlying cause of the problem. While aversive treatment can be helpful in stopping behavior, it is difficult to regulate what is considered excessive and what will succeed for some patients as opposed to others.
In addition, it is virtually impossible to conduct studies on the exact dosage.
Controversy Surrounding the Problem
There is controversy surrounding the use of GED because of the imprecise intersection of medical use, the use of drugs, and the use of drugs. ethics, which has the ability to handle shocks, the supervision of the state and the judicial system. Although Fields' decision allows the CCR to continue aversive therapy, an FDA proposal may prohibit the use of electrical stimulation devices to control aggressive or self-injurious behaviors.
Beyond the power dynamics between government and health care, many, including the ADAPT disability rights group and the American Civil Liberties Union, oppose GED as inhumane. And, in 2013, a UN report from the Special Rapporteur on Torture stated that the rights of children treated with GEDs "have been violated under the UN Convention against Torture and other international standards. "
The FDA has previously reported that electroconvulsive therapy, like GED, can cause physical effects – burning of the skin, trauma, including bruising, falls, oral injury and fractures, epileptic complications
In 2011 and 2012, the FDA issued warnings to the CCR stating that the center did not follow the GOL guidelines.
And, in 2016, the FDA submitted a proposal to ban GED, but the rule has not yet been applied
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