Autisic boy locked in concrete scream room; left with broken hand by teachers

Workers would turn on the ventilation fan to drown out the screaming

An autistic boy has described how his teachers would pin him down, drag him through a hallway and lock him in a concrete 'scream room'.

Carson Luke still has nightmares about the harrowing experience four years ago at a school for the disabled in Chesapeake, Virginia.

The 13-year-old was sent into the secluded chamber - hidden behind metal doors and separated from the main school building - after an aggressive outburst in 2011.

When he was inside workers turned on a ventilation fan to drown out his screaming.

One on occasion, faculty members broke his hand after trapping it in the heavy door as they tried to force him inside. The wound was so deep the bone was exposed and he required surgery.

He told his story as newly-released documents from the Department of Education reveal some teachers use handcuffs, bungee cords and duct tapes to restrain students.

As a parent of a special needs student, autism and other disabilities, special needs do NOT have civil rights. They states claim that they do, but once they walk through the school doors, their rights disappear and they are school property. I have seen it, and I can testify to this. And yes, my daughter has gone to a secluded room school. They are horrid!

The use of seclusion rooms, as they are known, is contentious, but they are widely used across the country.

Critics say such techniques are almost always unnecessary to keep order in the classroom and are actually counterproductive, exposing kids to physical and emotional injury and long-term trauma.

According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Education, the school Carson went to used seclusion 559 times and restraint 177 times in 2011, the year Carson was injured.

The new Virginia legislation requires the state Board of Education to develop statewide regulations governing the use of seclusion and restraint. It was passed over the objections of lobbyists for school boards and principals who said it would allow school administrators too little discretion.

In almost all cases, the complaints involved children with disabilities.

Nationally, according to the commission, while students with disabilities make up just 12 percent of all students, they represent 75 percent of those physically restrained and 58 percent of those secluded.

There have been repeated attempts in Congress over the past five years to establish nationwide standards, but they have gone nowhere.

Why? Because the obvious. It doesn't involve their kids.

The new legislation requires that the Virginia regulations be consistent with 15 principles developed by the U.S. Department of Education.

According to those principles:

— Seclusion and restraint should not be used except in situations where the child's behavior poses imminent danger of serious physical harm to himself or others and other interventions are ineffective.

— Teachers and school staff should be trained on safe use of the techniques and on alternative measures.

— When seclusion and restraint are used, parents should be notified as soon as possible.

These are very reasonable guidelines, and yet, I will wager every dime I own, almost every special needs school will not do this, why? It's easier to throw the kid in a room and forget about them to force them to calm down. Solitary confinement for children. Get them used to prison now.

Sounds like a mini-apartheid.


Shameful.

a reply to: Anyafaj

I have Asperger's and had an outburst in hs. They at least knew how to handle it but I've heard other cases like this, where the kid is treated like an animal. All I have to say is some rather heartless pathetic excuses for human beings are in charge of teaching our children.

originally posted by: Anyafaj

If the responsible people are allowed to get away with this, then our legal system has failed.

That being said, it begs the question as to how we deal with those who are likely to harm others or themselves?

Being placed into room where they are isolated seems like a humane response but as with all things human, can be misapplied as a tool of oppression.

a reply to: chr0naut

Not all autistic people who have "rants" are harmful. Most of the time it's simply them vocalizing out of extreme frustration over an inability to properly convey what they're thinking.

a reply to: Anyafaj

There is something really wrong with certain people in this world of ours.......

Teachers like this should not be allowed to teach they should become prison officers or screws as they are otherwise known the sort of behavior is much more fitting than for a teacher of children....

originally posted by: Yeahkeepwatchingme
a reply to: chr0naut

Not all autistic people who have "rants" are harmful. Most of the time it's simply them vocalizing out of extreme frustration over an inability to properly convey what they're thinking.

Yes, I am aware that a good yell "fills the lungs and empties the head" (a quote from an 18th century manual on baby care that I have always liked), and that loud or even physically 'over the top' movements may not necessarily be due to an intention to cause harm.

From the point of view of the care-giver suddenly plunged into this situation, how should one react?

a reply to: chr0naut

Depends on the situation and if the person truly does have a history of violence. I've heard kids with Asperger's say the most heinous, evil things one can think of. Yet they'd never act on it. One kid I knew with it had no concept that suffering causes pain, because he figured he doesn't feel the pain he inflicts so it's meaningless to sway him.

All depends on the person, and whether or not you have a caregiver who actually knows how our minds work.

originally posted by: Yeahkeepwatchingme
a reply to: chr0naut

Depends on the situation and if the person truly does have a history of violence. I've heard kids with Asperger's say the most heinous, evil things one can think of. Yet they'd never act on it. One kid I knew with it had no concept that suffering causes pain, because he figured he doesn't feel the pain he inflicts so it's meaningless to sway him.

All depends on the person, and whether or not you have a caregiver who actually knows how our minds work.

Yeah, I'm a bit Aspergers and have never been good at intuiting what others are thinking. I'm the first to admit it that I would hate to put myself in a situation where I must deal with such ethical issues. I'm just not equipped for it.

Ok anyone with an autistic kid (dont have any but I have had experience seeing the horrible behavior they are capable of.) knows how violent and loud they can become when upset. If my child were behaving that way, I would have no problem allowing the school to send him to an isolation room as long as they used a restraint chair similar to the ones in jail. This would ensure they cant even move, let alone hurt themselves on the walls or bang their head until unconscious.

Heck I would approve that for my kids now if they became violent in school at all anyways.

originally posted by: DYepes
Ok anyone with an autistic kid (dont have any but I have had experience seeing the horrible behavior they are capable of.) knows how violent and loud they can become when upset. If my child were behaving that way, I would have no problem allowing the school to send him to an isolation room as long as they used a restraint chair similar to the ones in jail. This would ensure they cant even move, let alone hurt themselves on the walls or bang their head until unconscious.

Heck I would approve that for my kids now if they became violent in school at all anyways.

There's being a caring educator and not wanting the child to hurt themselves or others, and there's being a jerk and hurting the child to the point where you break their hand and they need surgery, but you really could care less! In fact you are so heartless you turn a fan on so you don't have to hear that child screaming in pain from the broken hand. There's something so inherently wrong with that, I'm not sure where to begin! Lt's face it, this is tantamount to torture.

originally posted by: Anyafaj



There's being a caring educator and not wanting the child to hurt themselves or others, and there's being a jerk and hurting the child to the point where you break their hand and they need surgery, but you really could care less! In fact you are so heartless you turn a fan on so you don't have to hear that child screaming in pain from the broken hand. There's something so inherently wrong with that, I'm not sure where to begin! Lt's face it, this is tantamount to torture.

Now this right here is where I believe there may have been some sensationalism. The article describes this as:

hidden behind metal doors and separated from the main school building

Knowing schools, this means there was no central AC or a window unit since it was a separate block. If it was behind metal doors and allegedly a concrete walls, then there needs to be some circulation. Needless to say it sounds as it is already engineered to mitigate sounds, so this whole theory of turning on the fan for the purpose of drowning out the screams seems unnecessary and more likely to keep the temperature under control. This may be a very emotional topic, but we have to look at things rationally and interpret likely explanations vs. enraged accusations of hostile adolescents with mental disabilities.

All that was only in regard to the interpretation of the fan though. I am very appalled at what happened to this boy's hands especially having seen such treatment on minors in a youth offenders facility. In that time a guard broke a 16 year old boy's arm in front of half a dozen other inmates. I feel that solidifies the necessity of a restraint chair. Had these counselors, or caretakers or whatever restrained the child in the chair, the hand injury would not have occurred.

I figure when someone is unable to mobilize their physical energy with negative intent, there will be a duration at which the individual is forced to confront the dilemma in their head, or out loud verbally, until exhaustion. Normal dialogue is necessary for healthy human contacts.

Schools and teachers cant be trained to deal with these issues they are not the police to defend themselves and other children from violence. As soon as children become aggressive they should be removed from the school by their parents.
You cant force an aggressive child to calm down.

a reply to: Anyafaj

A 'seclusion' room? Even the term screams abuse. Hasn't this school heard of time-out rooms? Safe spaces that the student can voluntary go to and leave? The staff sound like they haven't been taught de-escalation techniques and no holistic approach is taken. I've been working in the autism field for ten years and it is second nature to us in the uk to work holistically and adhere strictly to the National Care Standards. Has been that way for the ten years I've worked in this field. Bodies like the Care Inspectorate ensure these laws are adhered to. Why does a country like the US not follow suit?

It sounds as though until these national guidelines are made law like it is in the uk, these shocking incidents will keep happening.

a reply to: DYepes
Autism isnt a 'mental disability'. It's a neurological disorder. It has nothing to do with their mental state of mind.

Aggression usually stems from the person being misunderstood, frustrated due to communication difficulties, sensory overload, disruption to routine... the list goes on. If the staff understood autism they would not detain this boy in this way. There seems to still be a huge lack of understanding about autism and this could be another factor here.

originally posted by: DYepes
Ok anyone with an autistic kid (dont have any but I have had experience seeing the horrible behavior they are capable of.) knows how violent and loud they can become when upset. If my child were behaving that way, I would have no problem allowing the school to send him to an isolation room as long as they used a restraint chair similar to the ones in jail. This would ensure they cant even move, let alone hurt themselves on the walls or bang their head until unconscious.

Heck I would approve that for my kids now if they became violent in school at all anyways.

Wow. I can see you have no clue about the neurological condition that is autism but it still doesn't excuse comments like that.

Lets just get one thing very clear - autism isn't a BEHAVIOURAL issue. These kids don't act this way because they are 'misbehaving'. It is mainly sensory and if you did have a kid with autism I'm sure you'd quickly realise that so please don't judge.

Please, educate yourself even slightly on autism. No kid deserves to be restrained to a chair by a teacher prison-style even if they did just have behaviour issues!

originally posted by: daftpink
a reply to: DYepes
Autism isnt a 'mental disability'. It's a neurological disorder. It has nothing to do with their mental state of mind.

Aggression usually stems from the person being misunderstood, frustrated due to communication difficulties, sensory overload, disruption to routine... the list goes on. If the staff understood autism they would not detain this boy in this way. There seems to still be a huge lack of understanding about autism and this could be another factor here.

Sadly here in the states, a lot of people, including our representatives, see Autism as a mental disorder. My daughter has already been locked up in a psych ward 5 times because of it, and each time was with adults while she was still a teen, because technically, according to the state, 14 was an adult. 3 of the times she was locked up with veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who would tell war stories about how their limbs had been blown off or who they shot up. Just what an autistic teen operating on an 8 yr old level needed to hear. One psych ward was with girls who liked to try and commit suicide and set fires. She also spent 2 weeks in jail to "teach her a lesson". All it taught her was to be deathly afraid of cops.

There are also a lot of never-disciplined children and teenagers who throw tantrums and are defiant of all instruction and who end up mis-diagnosed as autistic. Most should be headed to jail to keep the rest of us safe from their behavior, but will likely be improper recipients of court leniency because of these missed diagnoses..

a reply to: Anyafaj


Ummm...it really says something about a society...when those frustrated with communication and understanding are dragged from the room...dragged through the halls...dragged into a dungeon...as they desperately cling to the doorjamb...only to have the door slammed on their hands...as they're left in isolation...in solitary...treated like criminals...caged like animals...
And that my friends is just the...teacher...

What's the lesson there...I wonder...that if you become frustrated with your inability to express yourself...to communicate...
that...rather...than compassion and an honest effort to bridge that gap...we drag you away...lock you away...brush off our hands...smooth our frocks...and walk away...

Job well done...mission accomplished................and you cash that check as we payed you to bury whatever was left of your humanity...as you begin to drag another screaming child...to isolation...to torture...

They do learn a lesson...there...
We also learn a lesson...here...






YouSir

a reply to: Tusks

Is this your opinion or do you have facts to back up that statement? I'm genuniley curious as where I live that does not happen.

From my experiences kids aren't referred for autism screening because of tantrums or bad behaviour. There has to be more specific concerns such as lack of appropriate eye contact, sensory defecits, hand-flapping or rocking (known as self-stimulatory behaviours) and many other symptoms I won't list here. these are not kids behaving badly, they are trying to process and make sense of their world while experiencing sensory impairment, inflexibility of thought, which lead to communication difficulties and difficulties socially. Some kids may rock back and forward as they are processing what has just happened, or rock out of anxiety about what is happening, or for the comforting feel of it. You must remember that these kids can be hypo sensitive, which means their senses are less than a neuro typical. they may not feel or hear the same as you do. The stereotypical 'head banging' that another poster mentioned is also attributed to sensory defecit. imagine you could not feel sensations on your skin or that of others. You had to bang your head to actually get any sort of stimuli. Imagine livign in a world where your senses are skewed and small sounds are magnified to frightening porportions, and vibrate painfully through your body. That sound may be inaudble to most but the kid who is screaming in the supermarket just wants it to stop causing his whole body to hurt.

People see behaviours and nothing else and just think - that kid is having a tantrum.

It's very different for kids with autism and any psychiatrist with half an education should see the difference between a child who is having a tantrum because he/she hasn't been taught boundaries/rules or is having a 'tantrum' because he/she is distressed due to sensory overload or other autism-related barriers. but then, coming from the UK, and seeing some of the stories about how autism is viewed in the US, I am at a loss to describe how sad this makes me.