Judge backs shock treatment
BY JENNIFER SINCO
KELLEHER
Newsday Staff Writer
September 9, 2006
A federal judge on Friday
reinstated electric skin-shock treatments for 45 New York
students whose parents are plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to
allow their children to receive the therapy at a Massachusetts
school for extreme behavioral disorders.
Despite the temporary court order, New York's Board of Regents
is expected to make permanent the regulations they've proposed
to limit what are known as aversive therapies, including skin
shock, after the New York Education Department released a
scathing review of the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Mass.
The school, which receives about $50 million a year from New
York State, has been under intense scrutiny for its unique shock
therapy since a Freeport mother announced plans in March to sue
her school district for sending her son to Rotenberg.
On Friday night, the school's director, Matthew Israel, said
U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe's decision is a victory
for the parents who have found the form of therapy effective for
their children, despite the state report that criticized the
school for strapping students to wooden boards while shocking
them. He said the Regents did not give parents much opportunity
to voice their support of the school.
"We're very happy the parents finally had a chance to make their
decisions heard," Israel said.
However, Long Island Regents representative Roger Tilles said
that the federal court ruling "would not prohibit us from making
our rule a permanent rule" for those New York students not
included in the lawsuit. The board is expected to meet Tuesday
in Albany.
Rebecca Cort, deputy commissioner of the state Department of
Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with
Disabilities, called the decision "extremely limited" and said
it has little effect on decisions made regarding aversive
therapies. She said it's unclear if the state Education
Department will appeal.
The parents and the Rotenberg center filed the lawsuit last
month, asking that the treatment not be limited. Israel said
since the Regents' rules went into effect on June 23 - including
allowing shocks only for aggression or abuse and not combining
forms of aversive therapy - 80 percent of the students regressed
significantly.
The shocks, which last up to 2 seconds, are meant to curb
undesirable behavior, such as attacking others or self-abuse.
Samantha Shear, 13, of Roslyn Heights, is one of the students
included in Friday's decision. The autistic girl repeatedly
struck herself in the head with such force that she damaged her
retinas, her parents said.
Her father, Dr. Mitchell Shear, an internal medicine physician,
said the reduction in shock therapy made Samantha whine more and
affected her ability to follow directions.
Shear said he's relieved that the judge allowed the injunction
but worries about the temporary status.
A trial will determine if the injunction becomes permanent. A
pretrial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 19.
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