After reading the New York State Education Department’s investigation of JRC, available here: http://nospank.net/jrc.pdf

it is pretty obvious to see that a lot of their goals are not upheld.

Rather than bashing or praising JRC, i’d like to know of alternative programs that I can work with to send children with behavioral/emotional difficulties so they may receive alternative treatment.

I sincerely hope that there are other programs out there that do not use GED adversive therapies, regardless if they work or not.

“Dr Israel has called on your community to suggest other methods that will work better.”

What exactly does Dr. Israel mean when he talks about “your community”? Does he mean college bloggers? Because while I’m sure that anyone at Innermost Parts could come up with a better treatment solution than physical abuse, I think that the “community” that Dr. Israel should really be asking to help improve the JRC is that of disability rights advocates. Oh wait, they all strongly condemn the practice of aversive shock therapy. How about the community of licensed psychologists? Never mind, they aren’t JRC fans either (http://boston.com/news/daily/15/school_report.pdf). Maybe that’s why you don’t need to be one to work at the Center.

If Matthew Israel is seriously concerned about the opinions of “my community”, why won’t he let us visit it like we have been petitioning for? If he wants our input so badly, why doesn’t he let us meet him on his playing field? Until he does, I have to believe his call to us is nothing more than pure grandstanding.

Valerie A. Klaassen

I am running for Massachusetts House of Representatives from Westford, Massachusetts. My campaign page is http://www.WilliamBunker2008.blogspot.com. The video information and articles on my page may help you on your progressive journey.

If elected I will introduce legislation to ban this treatment of humans as a violation of the 8th amendment. I expect legislation and policies to change before I get there.

It is true that students at the Judge Rotenberg Center are often dangerous to themselves. No one is arguing that these are perfectly healthy students, ripped from their everyday lives and thoughtlessly attached to electric devices. JRC students are indeed severely mentally disabled.

However, disabilities such as autism and mental retardation are more effectively treated through individualized counseling and carefully balanced medication. These forms of treatment, licensed psychologists agree, target dangerous behavior at the chemical and psychological roots. Aversive shock takes a backwards approach by targeting the end result of what is often an intolerable neurological condition, while neglecting the cause. B.F. Skinner, the Harvard psychologist who developed aversive therapy, himself renounced the treatment, proving that subjects react to shocks purely out of fear of punishment.

Secondly, the “rumors” of shocks for seemingly insignificant behaviors has been confirmed by the N.Y. State Board of Education, various psychologist observers, and Mathew Israel himself, the founder of the center. You can read the N.Y. Board Report here (http://boston.com/news/daily/15/school_report.pdf) which confirms frightening truths about how these students are treated. JRC founder and director Mathew Israel argued, at a hearing before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Children, Families, and People with Disabilities, that shocks for minor behaviors are necessary to the treatment. He claimed that “antecedent” behaviors like swearing or neglecting to follow directions lead to more violent behaviors, and therefore must remain legal. In an effort to compromise, budget amendment EHS 874 unfortunately still allows shocks for these behaviors.

Lastly, Brandeis students have repeatedly attempted to visit the JRC on fair and open-minded grounds, and Mathew Israel deliberately withdrew an offer for us to visit. We students cannot help but think that Israel has something to hide from us. If this institution is as humane as you say, why wouldn’t he welcome us? Even without a physical visit, Brandeis Students Against the Judge Rotenberg Center has spent the last year researching the center, its history, related psychology, and suitable alternatives. We have spoken with Mr. Israel, parents of students in and out of the JRC, former students and staff, legislators, journalists, and a wide array of psychologists and educators on the issue. We know exactly what we are talking about, and would never debase ourselves to the spreading of “rumors”.
We are students who care about upholding human rights in our own commonwealth. In the presence of humane and effective alternatives, the archaic method of cruel aversive shock treatment must stop.

It is true that students at the Judge Rotenberg Center are often dangerous to themselves. No one is arguing that these are perfectly healthy students, ripped from their everyday lives and thoughtlessly attached to electric devices. JRC students are indeed severely mentally disabled.

However, disabilities such as autism and mental retardation are more effectively treated through individualized counseling and carefully balanced medication. These forms of treatment, licensed psychologists agree, target dangerous behavior at the chemical and psychological roots. Aversive shock takes a backwards approach by targeting the end result of what is often an intolerable neurological condition, while neglecting the cause. B.F. Skinner, the Harvard psychologist who developed aversive therapy, himself renounced the treatment, proving that subjects react to shocks purely out of fear of punishment.

Secondly, the “rumors” of shocks for seemingly insignificant behaviors has been confirmed by the N.Y. State Board of Education, various psychologist observers, and Mathew Israel himself, the founder of the center. You can read the N.Y. Board Report here (http://boston.com/news/daily/15/school_report.pdf) which confirms frightening truths about how these students are treated. JRC founder and director Mathew Israel argued, at a hearing before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Children, Families, and People with Disabilities, that shocks for minor behaviors are necessary to the treatment. He claimed that “antecedent” behaviors like swearing or neglecting to follow directions lead to more violent behaviors, and therefore must remain legal. In an effort to compromise, budget amendment EHS 874 unfortunately still allows shocks for these behaviors.

Lastly, Brandeis students have repeatedly attempted to visit the JRC on fair and open-minded grounds, and Mathew Israel deliberately withdrew an offer for us to visit. We students cannot help but think that Israel has something to hide from us. If the school is as humane as you say, why would he hesitate? Our group has spent an entire year researching this center, its history, the theories of acclaimed psychologists, and alternative methods. We have also spoken with parents of disabled children in and out of the JRC, former JRC students and employees, legislators, journalists, and a wide array of psychologists and educators who work to shut this center down.

We will continue to fight the Judge Rotenberg Center because we know that more effective and humane treatments can help these students. There is no reason for cruel, primitive methods to be used in the year 2008.