A controversial Massachusetts school is in the spotlight again after a weekend brawl at a group home it operates sent three teenage residents to the hospital.
Police were called to the Canton, Mass. group home run by the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center on Friday after a 30-minute fight involving students and several staff members erupted. It is unclear what sparked the altercation, but one officer at the scene said a student told her he feared for his safety at the home.
Three of the home’s eight residents were treated at an area hospital for injuries ranging from a broken wrist to a broken hip.
Earlier this year the Justice Department said it was investigating the Judge Rotenberg center, which has long raised the ire of advocates for using electrical skin shocks as one means to control students. At the same time, the Massachusetts attorney general’s office also said it was investigating the school. Previous attempts to close the facility have been unsuccessful.
Students at the school have diagnoses ranging from behavioral disorders to autism and intellectual disabilities, reports The Boston Globe. To read more click here.
I work at JRC and we do serve individuals with severe behavior disorders like the ones included in this story. They often have violent behavior which is why they have been placed at our facility. No else wants to treat these individuals and over the 40 years the program has been in existence the success rate is very high. To reiterate, none of these individuals have court, family and IEP authorized treatment with the contingent skin shock. As far as the injuries noted, the broken nose was caused when the individual was singing and dancing in the shower and fell. There was no broken hip or wrist but one client did injure his foot which is under investigation. And while it may appear to be semantics, the contingent skin shock is not used to “control students”. It is a scientifically based form of treatment for severe behavior disorders and JRC has peer reviewed journal articles, listed on out website, that anyone can review.