#stoptheshock

On 6/11 a House subcommittee passed a draft bill that would stop the FDA banning shock devices used at the JRC. Our next step is to stop it passing the Appropriations committee.

ymirjotunn btw if you haven't commented on it yet, the fda is taking comments on their proposed rule banning shock devices for autistic people at the judge rotenburg center. they are taking comments until may 28th. asan wrote a good plain language guide on how to submit a comment if you are not sure what to do! even just a few sentences saying this is a good rule will be enormously helpful. thank you!

List of existing comments

Direct link to making your comment

Use "Individual Consumer" for what your comment is about.

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I reposted this as original links went directly to comment and not the hub explaining how to submit and the warning bout including identifying information

and here's an article from another post. I have put the post in source

I’m also adding the link to autistic advocate and current candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates, Lydia X. Z. Brown who has an archive of the JRC (Judge Rotenberg Center’s) abuses. The JRC (a residential school for autistic children and adults) continues to use electroshock devices despite its brutality and all the campaigns against this practice.

https://linktr.ee/StopTheShock?fbclid=IwAR0NalLLZmQnRBdQq7CuGdoRVulX8kscbkoKLbHzovYXTHKOYcj5suWfui8

https://autisticadvocacy.org/2022/07/a-letter-of-support-for-legislation-banning-electric-stimulation-devices/

So earlier today, a court ruling dismissed a regulation that would have banned a GED, a shock device used to punish autistic/disabled people's ND behaviors. This device has caused many autistic people psychological and mental/emotional trauma and we need your help to stop this. This isn't just activism, this is basic human rights on the line. More info below:

What you can do to help is to fill out this form below against the use of the GED or any other kind of torture device used on disabled people. As an autistic woman, I am practically begging you to take action with me. (Please note this can only be filled out by US citizens!!!!!)

Autistic Self-Advocacy Twitter Post. / Link here.

Feel free to add any more information you can find!

As you may already know, on July 6th 2021, a federal court overturned an FDA ban on the use of electroshock devices on disabled people at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, MA; which the United Nations recognises as torture.

If you are unsure how to help, or executive dysfunction is getting in the way, TikTok user @/virydeansea has put together a step-by-step guide to the current action points listed on auteach.com which are also listed below (slightly modified for tumblr to include links).

1. Google auteach or follow this link to auteach.com

2. Scroll down on the homepage and click the purple Help Now button.

3. In a separate tab, open up your email.

4. Create new draft.

5. In the new draft, copy and paste the provided script.

6. Edit the script with some personal notes. (Basically just tell them why you decided to help! What does this mean to you personally?)

7. Choose an organisation to address the email to (full list at the bottom of the Help Now page).

8. Edit the script to contain the name of the organisation/people in power.

9. Give your email a subject. (URGENT: Stop the Shock).

10. Hit Send.

If you have made it this far, thank you. Please also remember that the Judge Rotenberg Center disproportionately holds children of colour, so this is very much a racial issue as well as a disability rights issue. We cannot allow inhumane torture devices to be banned only to decide to make an exception just for disabled children of colour, especially during Disability Pride Month.

I need to talk to you about something. At the Judge Rotenburg Educational Center, autistic children as young as eight are being tortured. The device in question is the Graduated Electric Decelerator. This machine was invented by Matthew Israel and was designed to be more painful than a police taser. Young children received up to forty shocks a day. These offenses included things as simple as saying no, stimming (rocking, flapping their hands, etc.), or making more than five noises an hour. The device caused third-degree burns in many children. Luckily, the device was banned by the FDA in 1994. But recently, in a Supreme Court ruling, this horrific device was brought back. Please stop the abuse of autistic children.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Please sign this petition:

http://chng.it/HHx9QFCNK8

Email your local representatives to ban this evil device with this template:

Hello, [MR./MS. CONGRESS REP NAME], my name is [NAME] I need to talk to you about a very important issue. Recently the Supreme Court brought back the graduated electronic Decelerator, which the FDA banned in 1994. I understand why the FDA could not do this, however, you can. The GED is a device invented by Matthew Israel, and is meant to be as painful as a police taser. This machine was originally invented to stop SIB, or Self Injuring Behavior, however the doctors and nurses abused their power and used it up to forty times a day. Please create legislation to stop the abuse of autistic children.

TW // ableism, torture, electroshock therapy, ABA therapy, death mention

On July 6th, 2021, the ban was lifted on an electroshock punishment that is used against people with intellectual disabilities, autism, and other disabilities.

Here's more info about that:

The electroshock device, called the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED) was banned by the FDA in 2020, but after a lawsuit from the JRC, the U.S. Court of Appeals found that the ban was a regulation of the practice of medicine, which was considered to be beyond the FDA's authority.

GEDs are used at the Judge Rosenberg Center (JRC) in Massachusetts and they are the ones that have been fighting to continue to use this device unregulated. They use the GED as a form of punishment, as they believe it "corrects" the behaviors of people with autism and intellectual disabilities.

This paragraph talks about the instances in which this device has been used and may be upsetting; please skip to the next section if you need to. At the JRC, they shock people for things such as having meltdowns or emotional outbursts, stimming, flinching, slouching in a chair, or for not doing their work. They will often strap the patients down and shock them repeatedly. Apparently someone was shocked 31 times in 7 hours for not taking their jacket off and had to be hospitalized as a result. It's no surprise that the use of these devices has caused people trauma, PTSD, and physical injuries. This is torture. And it's not the only form of torture that they use at the JRC, many people have died there due to their negligence and vile treatment: click here for a twitter thread with some of their stories (warning for discussion of neglect, abuse, violence, and death)

What you can do to help:

Here is more general info:

Here is a petition to ban the GED:

Here is a petition to investigate the JRC:

Here is a form to email your representatives:

Here is a message template that @ AutSciPerson on Twitter created to help when contacting your representatives:

If you have Twitter, check out the hashtag #StopTheShock for more info and resources