Amazing Judge Rotenberg Center shock victim complaint
The Canton, MA Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) "specializes" in aversive (pain) "treatment" for the disabled and juvenile delinquent community and many people have tried to closed to house of torture over the years.
Below is a letter addressed to Nancy R. Weiss, Director, National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities, from a former JRC "client" of seven years. detailing the abuse she and other JRC victims received over the years. The GED device referred to is called the Graduated Electronic Decelerator that gives powerful shocks that are roughly ten times the power of a police taser gun. The device in action can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAj9W0ntUMI as filmed in court by Fox News Boston.
Please read the letter and help to stop this abuse.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
Kevin Hall
Dear Ms. Weiss
Hello my name is xxx. I was told you are someone I can
talk to in confidence and be safe. I would like to share with you my letter
that I wrote to the FDA about life inside JRC and on the GEDs. It was torture
being there. And I suffered so much. I am still tormented. Here is my letter of
testimony:
My name is xxx
and I attended the Judge Rotenberg Center. I am writing to ask you to
please reconsider your approval of the GED for use on ANY human being. I was
placed on the GED about 2 months after arriving. I started out on the
GED-1, and during my last few years I was placed on the GED-4. There are
so many of us that were tortured with these devices, this “treatment”. I
believe the reason why more ex-students haven’t spoken out is because they are
either non-verbal, afraid, or believe that no one cares about us or it will not
make a difference. Parents and families that speak and rally in favor of the
GED, are not the ones who have to experience it, the pain and anxiety, day
after day for years on end.
The GED IS
harmful. Even the GED-1. I was burned many times, and I still have scars on my
stomach from being repeatedly shocked there, by the FDA approved GED-1. The
electrodes had actually burned into my skin. I experienced long term loss of
sensation and numbness in my lower left leg, after getting a shock there. I
felt searing pain all the way down to the bottom of my foot, and was left with
no feeling in my skin from the knee down for about a year. Again, this was with
the GED-1. After complaining to JRC nursing about my leg, they told me to
tell the Neurologist about it during a follow up visit for a suspected
seizure. He asked the staff what that device was on my leg, and they
explained to him it was an electrode. After their explanation, the Neurologist
said, “Well, I don’t know what that thing is, but it needs to come off.” JRC
left the device off my leg for about a year, then decided on their own, without
sending me back to a Neurologist, it was ok to put it back. I have seen
students with torso electrodes accidentally placed on their spine area, get a
shock there and be violently bent backwards.
Also,
I would like you to know that the devices have a tendency to malfunction and go
off all by themselves. JRC refers to this as a “misapplication”. It happened to
me and other students so many times I cannot count. Sometimes the GED’s will
just start to go off and shock you by themselves. Other times the staff
shock one student but the remote can also set off someone else’s device at the
same time. I have also gotten accidentally shocked from staff mixing up
my device with another student’s device, shocking me instead. Then there are
the times when staff intentionally misuse the GED. I have had a staff who
became angry with me and started pushing more than one remote at a time, shocking
me several places on my body at once. I have had staff intentionally give me
shocks for things I didn’t do in places like the bus where there was no camera
to prove it. I have had numerous staff over my years there threaten me with a
GED, antagonize me to try and get me to have a behavior they can then shock me
for, merely for the sport of it. Staff can and DO use the GED to scare
non-verbal students into doing what they want them to by pretending they are
about to shock them. Some even laugh when they do this.
Many of
the things I and others get shocked for at JRC were very small things. They
would often shock us for things simply because staff found them annoying and
they would keep writing therapy notes until our psychologist added it to our
program. I got shocked for tic like body movements, for which I have no control
over, and which don't hurt me or anybody else. I would be shocked for waving my
hand in front of my face for more than 5 seconds, for closing my ears with my
fingers, which I do when things get too loud, because I cannot tolerate too
much noise. I would be shocked for wrapping my foot around the leg of my chair,
for tensing up my body or my fingers, and the list goes on and on. There was a
period of time where I and many of the other students were getting shocked for
having 5 verbal behaviors in an hour. A verbal behavior is a minor behavior
like talking to yourself, noises (such as clearing your throat), or talking
without permission. Every hour would start a new block. And if you were
pinpointed more than 4 times in that hour, on the 5th you would get a shock,
and then for EVERY minor verbal behavior after that you would be shocked. If
you talked out a 6th time, shock. If you had to go to the bathroom, and you had
to go really bad, but you asked more then once, that would be nagging, which is
a verbal behavior. And these were the things we were getting shocked for. My
program was this way for a while. Some of my verbal behaviors I got pinpointed
for were crying, talking to myself (even quietly), noises, laughing, humming,
repeating myself and inappropriate tone of voice (which was based on staff's
opinion of how my voice should sound). Almost every time I spoke or
answered a question, I was pinpointed with these behaviors. My reaction was to
stop speaking, but they also made part of my program that if I didn't answer
staff in 5 seconds, I would automatically be shocked. I was paralyzed with fear
every day. No matter what I did I was doomed. I ask those who read my letter to
think to themselves about how often they do some of these things while they are
working. Twirl their pens, talk to yourself or think out loud, ask a question
to someone nearby, hum a song that's in your head, laugh at something funny in
the room. These are things humans do. And they are not harmful. Yet we were
being subjected to terrible pain and fear for doing these simple things. One
day, out of the blue, the case managers went through the building and scratched
off this punishment from all their students recording sheets. They didn't say
anything to us about it, just made it like it never happened. Although I can't
say for sure, I overheard talk that one of the male students had told his
lawyer and family they were shocking him for talking, and that JRC was never supposed
to be allowed to do that to us. Whatever the reason, they covered it up fast.
And even though they stopped, they still need to be held accountable for all of
it. Because it went on for a very long time, and I suffered greatly because of
it. People NEED to know these things happened.
There was a
time when I was there that I was on the portion program. This is where JRC
starves you as a punishment for having a behavior. For example, my first plan
was that for every time I had a minor behavior, such as talking to myself,
rocking, wiggling my fingers, I would lose a part of my next meal. My meals
came to the classroom cut into tiny pieces and divided into portions inside of
a little plastic cup. Every time I had one of these little behaviors, I was
forced to stand up and throw one cup away. There were many days I would lose
most of my meals. And the hungrier I got, the more frantic and restless my body
became. This caused me to have more behaviors like tics and rocking, and in
turn I would lose more food. My mind clouded and I could no longer concentrate.
I would often become so frustrated from this I would end up hurting
myself. At the end of the day, at 7pm, I was offered "LOP"
(loss of privilege) food. This was made intentionally to be completely
unappetizing. It was ice cold, and it was made up of chicken chunks, mash
potato, spinach, and then doused with liver powder, then set to sit in the
refrigerator for days. The smell alone made me sick. And I never once was able
to eat it, no matter how hungry I got.
It
was very difficult to sleep at JRC. There are several alarms in the room and
over the bed. Every time someone moved in bed it would set a loud alarm off
that could be heard throughout the house. Most of us on GED's had to sleep with
the devices on. That means locks and straps that get all tangled around you and
make it very hard to lay down in a comfortable way. I was very anxious to close
my eyes, always fearing a shock for something I might not have even known I
did. My fears came true one day, and I was given a GED-4 shock while I was
asleep. It was not explained to me why I got this shock. I was terrified and
angry. I was crying. I kept asking why? And they kept telling me "No
talking out". After a few minutes Monitoring called, and told the staff to
shock me again for "Loud, repetitive, disruptive talking out."
The next day I asked the supervisor why I had gotten that GED. And she
explained that staff had found a small piece of plastic in my self-care box,
which contained my shampoo bottles etc, and that they considered this a hidden
weapon. I could not believe it. I did not hide anything in my self-care box. I
had not done anything wrong. Yet I was shocked for it, and worse off in my
sleep. That piece of plastic, of which I was never shown, had probably
broken off of one of the plastic containers inside the box. And I was severely
punished for this. After this incident I really stopped sleeping. Every time I
closed my eyes they would jump open, anticipating that jolt somewhere in my
body.
I
truly believe that the judges that approve us for the GED have no idea what it
really is like. All they have to go on is what JRC claims. The GED
does not feel like a “hard pinch” or a “bee sting.” It is a horrible pain that
causes your muscles to contract very hard, leaving you sore afterward. I would
often have a limp for one or two days after receiving a GED. The devices
JRC puts on us are not the same ones they show to the outside world when they
let outsiders try the GED. Students wear a different electrode, a long one with
2 metal electrodes that radiate the electricity across a large area.
Besides
the physical pain, life with GEDs is a life of constant anxiety. I experienced
heart palpitations daily, had a very hard time sleeping and eating, and became
rather paranoid, always wondering if I was about to get shocked and constantly
alert in all directions. I eventually became very depressed there and
contemplated suicide every night. Now, after having been gone almost 4 years, I
am still having nightmares and flashbacks during the day, especially when I
hear certain noises that remind me of GEDs and JRC.
I
want to mention, similar to many other students, I was also tied to the 4-point
restraint board and given multiple shocks for a single behavior. And if I
screamed out in fear while on the board, I would be shocked for that as
well. I was shocked for behaviors I had no control over, such as tensing
up and tic-like body movements. We were always having to watch others
getting shocked in the room. Hearing others scream, cry, beg to not be
shocked. Students would scream “I’m sorry, No, Please!!” all day. I, like
other students, would cringe and feel sick and helpless while watching others
getting shocked. I was so anxious about getting shocked that I would many
times bang my head just to get it over with. The GED often was the cause of my
behavior problems. The students that get shocked the most at JRC are
non-verbal. So they cannot speak up. I feel that just because we were born
different, we are not given the same rights to be protected from tortures like
the GED.
We
are at the mercy of guardians and judges. When I was brought to court to be
approved for the GED, I was not told where we were going or why. I was brought
into the courtroom wearing a helmet and restraints on my wrists and
ankles. I was not questioned by the judge. All he had to go on was
my appearance in those restraints, testimony from JRC officials, and charts of
provoked behaviors. These behaviors came from being forced to sit in isolation
with a straight upright posture, in the center of a hard restraint board, day
after day, week after week, for two months. I received no real help and no
socialization. For those two months I was not allowed to sit in a chair, at the
classroom or residence. I was to sit on the board. Also, JRC provoked me by not
allowing me to shower during those two months. Instead of showers, I was bathed
tied to a restraint board, naked, while staff washed me, putting their hands
all over me. All in front of cameras, where Monitoring watched, including
men. Being tied on a restraint board, naked, with my private areas
exposed to the staff in the bathroom and the cameras was the most horrible,
vulnerable, frightening experience for me. I would scream out “rape, rape!” And
these were recorded as major behaviors for me. When I first arrived at JRC, I
was immediately subjected to humiliation and provocation by them forcing me to
wear a diaper. I in NO WAY needed or have ever needed a diaper as an adult. I
am completely independent in all toilet and hygiene skills. And they knew that.
I had NEVER worn a diaper up until that day, except of course when I was a
little baby. And that is exactly how they made me feel, like a little baby. I
was embarrassed and confused and angry. I took that diaper off constantly. When
I would take the diaper off they would mark that down on my chart that they
would later show the judge as destructive behavior. I would often get
restrained on the 4 point board for taking off the diaper and fighting staff
not to make me put it back on. In these ways and more, JRC provoked many
behaviors in me that were shown on a chart to the judge. There is no way the
judge could know what was provoking my behaviors. JRC told the judges that
their program was the only thing that could help me. That theirs is the only
last resort treatment.
I was
considered a difficult case. I would like you to know that I am doing very well
in a new program that is nothing like JRC. I don’t get shocked or put in
restraints, and I am given help by staff and doctors that I can talk to. I am
not drugged up as JRC claims I would be if I left. JRC made no attempt to
understand me. Feelings do not matter to JRC and we were specifically not
allowed to express them. I felt like an animal test subject there.
My new program does not punish me for my problems, that are the result of
having Aspergers Syndrome. I have gotten so much better from getting real help
instead of constant punishment and pain.
I ask you
to please investigate carefully into the GED. The ones that are actually being
used on the students, not the samples JRC provides, as I have experienced them
to be extremely manipulative in all things. There are no doctors overseeing us
with the GED. Every few years they would drive me to a doctors office near
Framingham, Ma, and not tell me why. In his office he would literally walk in,
say hi how are you, and before you can answer he has signed their papers and
you are shown the door.
I
have attached with this email a document I wrote called “The Board” which is
about one of JRC’s worst tortures that they used on me and others. I wrote it so that outsiders can feel what we
feel, and hopefully to help others understand the agony of GED treatment. I
invite you to read it, and I hope it will share a new perspective for you, the
perspective of the ones that should matter the most, the human beings on which
these devices are being used.
Sincerely,
xxx
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The Board
By: xxx
December 2012
The most
sickening, horrifying experience of my life was being shocked on the restraint
board. What is the board? It is a large, door sized contraption made out of
hard plastic, with locking restraint cuffs on each corner where your wrists and
ankles get locked in. Your body becomes stretched spread eagle style, pinned
tight, rendering you completely helpless, combined with an overwhelming feeling
of vulnerability. It is a torture that you would expect to see in a horror
movie. The kind that makes you cringe and scream while you watch. The kind you
cant get out of your head even a after it’s over. Only this was happening for
real, to me.
They
added the restraint board, which for me was 5 shocks over 10 minutes to my
program after a few months, which means getting shocked 5 different times, over
a period of 10 minutes for having just one single behavior. If you have just
one of those behaviors on your sheet, which can be getting out of your seat
without permission (even without doing anything violent), tensing your body,
anything they decide to put in your program. A behavior is anything you do that
JRC considers a problem. Anything from hitting your head, to talking to
yourself, saying a swear word, rocking, even screaming from fear and pain
of the shocks, is a "behavior". The staff grab you, put you in
restraints, walk or drag you to where the board is kept (usually right in the
middle of the classroom with all the other students watching and stepping
around you), and than restrain you to the board. Arms and legs locked in. Then
the terror starts. You have to wait for it. You never know when it's coming.
The staff shocking you usually hides behind a door or desk so you can not see
them. JRC lavishes in the element of surprise when shocking us. Then all of a
sudden the searing pain and jolt in your arm or leg or stomach, or sometimes
even the fingertips or thigh or even bottom of your feet. Whichever part
of the body gets shocked, it will travel throughout. If you get shocked in your
arm, for example, it is not a "hard pinch" it is a radiating
electricity that will travel from your bicep through to your fingertips. Your
whole arm jerks against the restraints, causing added pain from your muscles
being forced to contract against being tied up. The loud screech of the device
goes off with it, and they say, "(name) there is no tensing up". One
down, 4 to go. Your heart races immediately, and you sweat profusely. All you
want to do is throw up. That ten minutes feels like hours. You try to prepare
yourself for the next shock. I keep saying in my head, 4 more, 4 more. Please
just finish please. Trying not to scream in fear because i will be shocked for
that as well. It comes again without warning, next time maybe in your stomach,
the stabbing pain runs from left to right, right to left, across your belly
button area. Your stomach heaves in and you lose your breath. More sweat now.
Your heart beats faster now than you can feel possible. I start to hope my
heart stops. Anything to let me away from this. 3 more. But now it's even
harder, I don't feel I can take any more of this torture. Besides the pain,
it's the panic and fear in your mind. There were times when I peed on myself.
One particular time I was put on the board for hitting my head the night
before. They said because the staff did not "follow my program". They
put me on the board. They shocked me repeatedly in the stomach. And when they
finally got to 5, I thought "it's over". But then they didn't take me
off the board. They gave me a 6th, than 7th, than 8th. They kept going. I was
so filled with fear, not knowing what was happening or when they would ever
stop. I went away in my head. I started floating. I had no more tears left.
When they finally stopped after 10, they sent other staff in to "change my
batteries". When they lifted the electrodes off of my stomach, it was
stuck. They had to pull because it had burned into my skin. I still have those
scars on my stomach. When they took the devices off of me to test them, I was
still strapped to the board. Every time I heard the noise from the test, I
cried and panicked. The staff attempted to comfort me, she whispered to me so
they wouldn't hear her, because any kind of comforting is never allowed. I was
shocked on the board on many separate occasions. One time for something I never
even did.
I lived this.
These things happened. These things were done to me and I witnessed them done
to many others.
Labels: aversive, aversive therapy, aversives, Behavioral Research Institute, GED, GED4, JRC, JREC, Judge Rotenberg, Matthew Israel