Parents Want More Limits On School Restraints And Seclusion
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
December 19, 2006

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT--About 100 people packed a hearing room last week to hear to parents and advocates call for the state to place limits on the restraint and seclusion techniques that school personnel can use to control students' behavior.

While there are restrictions on the use of restraint or seclusion in many Connecticut state agencies, those laws do not apply to public schools, said James D. McGaughey, executive director of the Connecticut Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities.

The Hartford Courant noted that many of those who spoke on Wednesday said that "time out" and "safe places" -- where their children with autism were supposed to go to calm down -- actually caused them to become more upset.

The Courant was instrumental in getting congressional lawmakers to take a closer look at the numbers and kinds of deaths and injuries that have been related to physical restraints of people with disabilities.

Related:
"Parents Criticize Restraints In Schools At Hearing; They Seek Changes In State Law" (Hartford Courant)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1219b.htm

---

Reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express international disability rights news service.
© Copyright 2006 Inonit Publishing. Please do not reprint, publish or distribute without permission.