07 May 2009

How to Treat the Handicapped.

Just shock 'em. It's entertaining!

Well, Joe linked to a recent story about a fellow who allegedly shocked his four children with dog collars and compared it to the treatment autistic people receive at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts:

"Now the only problem is that the dog collar that Marcum used was probably a lot less powerful than the one that is routinely used at the JRC. The dog collar is a small, self contained unit, while the JRC devices need a backpack to haul around. The dog collar will stimulate for up to a half second, while the 'GED' devices used by the JRC will shock you for up to 2 seconds."

"I found out while poking around that dog collars are subject to legal regulations, which state (amongst other things) that they can be applied for no more than 12 hours in any 24 hour period, and they can't put out more than 15 milliamps root mean square. The JRC uses devices that put out an average (not maximum of 15 milliamps RMS, and a maximum of 45 milliamps RMS (fully three times as powerful as the maximum allowed for a dog collar)."

My neighbours used to have a really BAD dog that would bite children. He was *supposed* to have gotten rid of it. It was on one of those electric fence things, except this guy was cheap and didn't even bother to bury it in his back yard. The dog would constantly escape and it seemed to me that each time he was "out," he was more scary than the last.

Autistic people are not animals! But the principle of 'training' your animal or child... of supervising and instructing, remains the same. I have to wonder if that BAD dog began as a bad dog, or if he were just a neglected dog turned angry. Well... anyway. No, I don't mean to suggest my children are performing in a poodle circus, but that when we encounter hitting, we tell the child "no" and offer alternatives, or find out WHY the behaviour continues... or... well, we do something other than zapping the kid, I'm thinking. Eventually, the child learns other methods of negotiation or anger management. (That's what I mean by "training," especially since we have no musical, showbiz or circus talent here. Sorry to disappoint.)

Oh, hey! That reminds me that I want to show you all my new ring soon. Our speech therapist got it for us and I put it together. Off to take a picture!

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for the link.

    The double standard involved when disability comes into play never ceases to amaze me.

    Joe

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  2. I heard the man also said he did it because he thought it was funny. What is wrong with this guy?

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  3. I am APPALLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for that!

    And, how come CPS will try to take our kids away for homeschooling them, and they do nothing about the Judge Rotenberg Center?

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  4. Joe, thank YOU for continuing to get the word out! This has to stop!

    DF, I don't know what's wrong with him, but maybe a few zaps from this collar might cure him pretty quick... *zap*

    LOL Shame on me for thinking that, but I do!!

    Tammy, this is the sort of thing sickens me, too. I'm beginning to think it's just a business thing. These centers "treat" children with taxpayer/ medical insurance dollars. We don't want amateurs doing this for free! We want to HELP the CHILDREN. For a price.

    Not to say some parents couldn't use a little genuine help... but I sure don't want people like that telling me what I MUST do.

    Why I'm so passionate about homeschooling, even if there are a few people not doing a great job. So? :]

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  5. Yup, the guy's from Oregon. We have an interesting mix of hippies, lesbians and deranged dirt-bags.

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Non-troll comments always welcome! :)

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