Fwd: Fw: Stop Hitting Our Kids. Now.

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

Please see the attached from our FCC Chairperson, Sherman.

Bonnie Florom

AQL, FCC Liaison, Enrollment Unit and Quality Unit Supervisor

Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Area 10

(954)713-1275 Fax:

201 W. Broward Blvd., Suite 305

Fort Lauderdale, Fl. 33301

http://apd.myforida.com

----- Forwarded by Bonnie Florom/APD/DCF on 08/31/2009 01:11 PM -----

" Sherman, "

<JSherman@...

mi.edu> To

Bonnie Florom/APD/DCF@DCF

08/31/2009 11:53 cc

AM

Subject

FW: Stop Hitting Our Kids. Now.

Bonnie:

This is really bone-chilling.

But I believe it should be distributed to the FCC-10 list, as well as Wait

List families.

It may not be happening in Broward, but this is occurring in Florida.

We all need to pay attention and insist that the law on corporal punishment

for kids with disabilities be changed!

Thanks…

Sherman, Ed.D., RN

Research Assistant Professor

- Director, Center on Aging & Disabilities

- Associate Director, MAGEC

- LEND Nursing Director, MCCD

University of Miami School of Medicine

1695 NW 9th Avenue, Room 3204 (D-101)

Miami, Florida 33136

Fax:

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From: Disability Relations Group

Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 7:20 AM

To: Sherman, Jean

Subject: Stop Hitting Our Kids. Now.

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..

Stop Hitting Our Kids. Now.

Rich La Belle

Executive Director

Family Network on Disabilities

Enough is enough. Stop hitting our kids. Now. I can't

believe this is still an issue, but it is. Why am I so upset? How about

this quote from M., a Florida mother, taken from the report " Impairing

Education: Corporal Punishment of Students with Disabilities in U.S.

Public Schools, " issued last week by the American Civil Liberties Union and

Human Rights Watch:

" I'm in the front office . They bring [my son] into the room. His nose is

beet red. He lifts up his shirt sleeve. I get a glimpse of scratches all

up his arm. I got overwhelmed, I couldn't focus . I wanted to get my son

to the doctor, I get him home and I take off his clothes. He was marked,

top of his arms, under his arms, down his torso. He had a busted lip,

which I hadn't notice at first. He said, 'they made me wash the blood off

before I saw you.' "

's son, who has autism, was seven years old when this abuse occurred.

Outraged, yet? Try this cry from the heart of another Florida mother, Rose

C., whose son also has autism. Rose was unable to protect her child from

being thrown to the floor face first, put in a chokehold, and suffering

bruises and cuts:

" I trusted the school, I trusted them to do the right thing . All this

abuse happened on my watch. It never should have happened. I feel so

guilty. "

Literally the same day I finished reading the ACLU/HRW report, a lawyer

friend of mine sent me a video clip from a local news show that shows one

of his clients - a teenage boy, nonverbal, who has autism, being dragged

from a classroom, down the hall, and thrown into a room by himself, with

the lights out. He sustained a broken finger during this episode, as well

as having his clothes torn. When the lights come on, blood can be seen on

the floor and walls.

No less than 20 states allow corporal punishment - using physical force

that causes pain or discomfort - against a child with disabilities for

purposes of discipline. I'm not going to debate here whether corporal

punishment is effective on kids without disabilities. I am going to say,

flat out, that children with disabilities should not be subject to corporal

punishment in school.

The ACLU/HRW report makes clear that students with disabilities are subject

to corporal punishment at significantly higher rates than their peers who

don't have disabilities. Florida ranks ninth in the nation on this list.

Further, all too often, kids with disabilities are being punished for

having a disability - for behavior that is a direct manifestation of their

diagnosed and documented condition. The report documents instances in

which this happens to children with autism and Tourette Syndrome. The

report sums it up this way: " Students are being beaten for behavior they

simply cannot control, or cannot reasonably be expected to control, a

grossly disproportionate and fundamentally demeaning response to the

child's condition. "

How in the name of all that is right in this world can anyone expect a

child who has difficulty interacting with their environment to feel safe in

a place where they have been physically harmed, regardless of the reason?

Before a single second of education can take place, the child's pounding

fear of being injured again will have to be successfully overcome. How

often does/will this happen? Many of our children may have difficulty

understanding cause and effect as far as their behavior and physical

punishment is concerned. However, they can and do make the connection that

the corporal punishment hurts, that they want to avoid it, that they want

to avoid the person who did this to them (their

teacher/principal/paraprofessional), and that they want to avoid the place

in which it happened (their school).

Am I saying don't discipline students with disabilities? Absolutely not.

Rules exist for a reason and violating them requires a response - but an

appropriate response. Children with disabilities are integral members of

our society - they, like everyone else, need to be able to learn

appropriate social skills and be able to interact with others. However,

the very reason that IDEA was enacted is the realization that, for kids

with disabilities, a " one size fits all " approach doesn't work. Education

needs to be individualized. Physical punishment needs to be banned.

If not corporal punishment, what, then? That's easy - something that

really works with all kids, with or without disabilities - Positive

Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS). How effective is it? As cited

in the ACLU/HRW report, a school for kids with disabilities that

implemented it went from over 1,000 restraint incidents to zero, including

zero seclusionary time outs. The effectiveness of PBS has long been known

and advocated as a best practice by many, including many Florida educators,

schools (many of which already implement these practices), and FND. A

renewed and expanded emphasis on, and training in the methods of, PBS must

now take place across Florida.

Lots of schools - district administrators, principals, teachers,

paraprofessionals, and staff - get this stuff right and treat children with

disabilities in their care properly and with love and respect. I'm not

complaining about them and I thank and honor them for their work.

Unfortunately, there are other schools that don't get it right - the ones

that ended up in the ACLU/HRW report and on the news.

The only way I can think of to effectively make sure that not another seven

year old with disabilities has to wash blood off themselves at school after

being punished for something is to stop it all. Now.

What's the first step? An immediate, statewide, moratorium on corporal

punishment (not just paddling, but the use of any force for discipline

purposes, regardless of whether or not it is officially sanctioned by

policy) used against any child covered under IDEA or Section 504 of the

Rehab Act. Stop the violence immediately and then we can talk about the

details. That's why FND is calling on Governor Crist and Commissioner

, as well as all Superintendents of Education and School Boards across

the state, to declare and impose this immediate moratorium.

What's next? We change the law. Hearts, minds, and behaviors

will follow. Just rewriting the statute books will not completely solve

the issue. Leadership at all levels will be needed. Practical, intensive

training of all personnel in a school, throughout the state, needs to occur

to really insure that this will stick. But, first thing's first.

Let's stop the punishment now and make it clear that any use of

physical force for purposes of discipline against a child with disabilities

(seclusion and restraint is another topic for another day) will be promptly

and forcefully dealt with by our schools and elected officials. We at FND

stand ready to work with the Governor, the Department of Education, school

districts and individual schools to implement positive models of behavioral

interventions and supports. Not another single child with disabilities

should get a bloody lip when what they're trying to get instead is an

education.

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