reinforcing the bad behavior Re: Re: Question about corporal punishment

[Guest guest]

it is never ok to hit a kid. it does no good. it does however create feelings of fear and pain.

fear and pain are not nearly as good as respect and comfort.

with an autistic child, you may in fact achieve continued bad behavior.

true life example: an ex-coworker of mine has a typical son and an autistic daughter. when the son began to explore and reach for the stove, they would 'pop' his hand and say no. eventually, he stopped reaching for the stove. (as if popping his hand was so much better than explaining the stove was hot and could hurt him, but whatever...)

when the daughter came along, and began to explore and reached for the stove, they popped her hand, too. guess what! she liked the stinging sensation that the pop gave her so she continued to reach for the stove to get the desired sensation.

just something to think about..

Subject: [Texas-Autism- Advocacy] Re: Question about corporal punishmentTo: Texas-Autism- Advocacy@ yahoogroups. comDate: Friday, January 9, 2009, 4:26 PM

I thought the school districts that offer corporal punishment have to have written permission from parents to spank their children, but the fact that marks were left would make me call CPS on the principal right away- that is child abuse. IF one of us parents spanked their child and left marks, the school would not hesitate to call CPS on us.>> Does anyone know the TEA guidelines for corporal punishment, specifically if there is an age requirement? Someone told me that they thought children under a specific age could not be spanked at school. My son was spanked yesterday and he is in kindergarten and the principal left marks.> > Thanks for any help,> >

Michele>

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

That type of punishment is just not acceptable. I know we all agree

with this but at this point you are left wiht a problem that needs to

be addressed. At this point you have several options:

1. withdraw your consent and do not allow them to use that procedure

anymore

2. define for the school what is acceptable and what is not. If you

are still OK with them spanking your child you need to let them know

that spanking that leaves marks is not OK. If you are worried that

they will take it the wrong way you can tell the principal that your

doctor noticed the marks and requested for that protocol to stop or

he/she will call CPS. That way you are not the one who is forcing

their hand.

3. ask for a functional assessment (this assessment looks at the

functions of the behaviors, what is your child gaining from engaging

in the inappropriate behaviors). Ideally this should be done by a

BCBA (board certified bahavior analyst) so you may want to

specifically request for one. The BCBA will be able to give you more

options on how to deal with those behaviors.

I am a BCBA and i may be able to help you if you need more guidance.

Hope this helps,

Cristina

>

> It amazes me that corporal punishment is still allowed in Texas.

When I first started teaching 26 years ago in a small Texas town

called Deweyville--corporal punishment was used there. I just

thought because it was a small, rural community--it was an acceptable

thing but it really bothered me that it was used so widely.(all the

teachers had paddles hanging in their rooms--decorated with cute

little stickers on them!) I don't like corporal punishment for

typical kids, let alone ANY child with special needs. At least with

autism. the idea is to DE-esculate the negative behavior, NOT

esculate it by using corporal punishment! Does anyone hitting these

kids know anything about autism and how to best handle a " challenging

situation " ? The idea is to teach them alternatives or self-

monitoring techniques--ie. breaks or " time outs " not as a punishment

but to remove from a stressful situation , sensory activities, social

stories, etc, etc.... there are so many other options for these kids.

>

> a

>

[Guest guest]

I totally agree that this form of punishment is unacceptable for any kid. It is almost criminal for a special needs child. What makes the least sense about it is that a lot of times the child gets in trouble for being aggressive and hitting someone and they are told, "no,we don't hit" and then an adult hits them. It is crazy really.

Subject: Fw: reinforcing the bad behavior Re: Re: Question about corporal punishmentTo: Texas-Autism-Advocacy Date: Monday, January 12, 2009, 9:38 PM

Hi there, That type of punishment is just not acceptable. I know we all agree with this but at this point you are left wiht a problem that needs to be addressed. At this point you have several options:1. withdraw your consent and do not allow them to use that procedure anymore2. define for the school what is acceptable and what is not. If you are still OK with them spanking your child you need to let them know that spanking that leaves marks is not OK. If you are worried that they will take it the wrong way you can tell the principal that your doctor noticed the marks and requested for that protocol to stop or he/she will call CPS. That way you are not the one who is forcing their hand. 3. ask for a functional assessment (this assessment looks at the functions of the behaviors, what is your child gaining from engaging in the inappropriate behaviors). Ideally this should be done by a

BCBA (board certified bahavior analyst) so you may want to specifically request for one. The BCBA will be able to give you more options on how to deal with those behaviors. I am a BCBA and i may be able to help you if you need more guidance.Hope this helps,Cristina >> It amazes me that corporal punishment is still allowed in Texas. When I first started teaching 26 years ago in a small Texas town called Deweyville-- corporal punishment was used there. I just thought because it was a small, rural community--it was an acceptable thing but it really bothered me that it was used so widely.(all the teachers had paddles hanging in their rooms--decorated with cute little stickers on them!) I don't like corporal

punishment for typical kids, let alone ANY child with special needs. At least with autism. the idea is to DE-esculate the negative behavior, NOT esculate it by using corporal punishment! Does anyone hitting these kids know anything about autism and how to best handle a "challenging situation"? The idea is to teach them alternatives or self-monitoring techniques-- ie. breaks or "time outs" not as a punishment but to remove from a stressful situation , sensory activities, social stories, etc, etc.... there are so many other options for these kids.> > a>

[Guest guest]

It does not surprise me that a school thought it was just fine to beat a young special needs child in kindergarden with a paddle. Schools think they have the power to do anything they want to our children and get away with it. What blew me away is that the mother said the father was in favor of it.! Why do we even think that violence is the proper way to discipline a child ? When are we going to wake up and realize violence begets violence ?....you are teaching a child nothing but "Im bigger and I can hurt you" mentality. Makes a great impression on would -be bullies.

I made it clear from day one with the schools that no one, no where and no how would ever touch my child like this. You report this to all agencies, to the police, and get an attorney.

It also sounds like the school did not want to give the child the support and programs he needs either - what a suprise....that needs to change immediately. You have to fight for everything your child needs to succeed -

This is a very unfortunate incident that did not have to happen. Every child deserves our protection against this kind of physical l abuse.

..

From: Cristina <childulyahoo (DOT) com>Subject: Fw: reinforcing the bad behavior Re: [Texas-Autism- Advocacy] Re: Question about corporal punishmentTo: Texas-Autism- Advocacy@ yahoogroups. comDate: Monday, January 12, 2009, 9:38 PM

Hi there, That type of punishment is just not acceptable. I know we all agree with this but at this point you are left wiht a problem that needs to be addressed. At this point you have several options:1. withdraw your consent and do not allow them to use that procedure anymore2. define for the school what is acceptable and what is not. If you are still OK with them spanking your child you need to let them know that spanking that leaves marks is not OK. If you are worried that they will take it the wrong way you can tell the principal that your doctor noticed the marks and requested for that protocol to stop or he/she will call CPS. That way you are not the one who is forcing their hand. 3. ask for a functional assessment (this assessment looks at the functions of the behaviors, what is your child gaining from engaging in the inappropriate behaviors). Ideally this should be done by a

BCBA (board certified bahavior analyst) so you may want to specifically request for one. The BCBA will be able to give you more options on how to deal with those behaviors. I am a BCBA and i may be able to help you if you need more guidance.Hope this helps,Cristina >> It amazes me that corporal punishment is still allowed in Texas. When I first started teaching 26 years ago in a small Texas town called Deweyville-- corporal punishment was used there. I just thought because it was a small, rural community--it was an acceptable thing but it really bothered me that it was used so widely.(all the teachers had paddles hanging in their rooms--decorated with cute little stickers on them!) I don't like corporal

punishment for typical kids, let alone ANY child with special needs. At least with autism. the idea is to DE-esculate the negative behavior, NOT esculate it by using corporal punishment! Does anyone hitting these kids know anything about autism and how to best handle a "challenging situation"? The idea is to teach them alternatives or self-monitoring techniques-- ie. breaks or "time outs" not as a punishment but to remove from a stressful situation , sensory activities, social stories, etc, etc.... there are so many other options for these kids.> > a>