Disability Advocates Urge FDA To Ban Shock Devices
By Michelle Diament
June 9, 2015
*2015, and this has to be fought for.
More than a year after the Food and Drug Administration said it might ban electric-shock devices used to modify behavior in individuals with disabilities, advocates are calling on the agency to take action.
In a letter sent last week to Stephen Ostroff, acting commissioner of the FDA, dozens of disability advocacy organizations urged the agency to ban what are known as aversive conditioning devices.
“We call for the FDA to issue a total ban on any aversive conditioning devices used for contingent electric shock, in order to protect the public’s right to safe, evidence-based treatment and the inherent human rights and dignity of people with disabilities,” reads the letter signed by over 70 advocacy groups including The Arc, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, the Autism Society of America, the National Disability Rights Network and the National Down Syndrome Society.
Currently, the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Massachusetts is believed to be the only facility in the country using devices to administer skin shocks when individuals exhibit undesired behavior. The center, which serves children and adults with developmental disabilities as well as those with behavioral and emotional problems, has long held that the approach is a last resort for those with “life-threatening behavior disorders.”
in full: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/06/09/disability-ban-shock-devices/20370/
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