Monday, February 24, 2025, 5:05PM |  47°
MENU
Advertisement
Rachel Hott
1
MORE

Other Voices: Torturing children legally at taxpayers’ expense

Other Voices: Torturing children legally at taxpayers’ expense

A cattle prod is a handheld device used to make cows move in the direction you want by applying relatively high voltage, low current electric shock. It can be quite effective. You can buy this device online for less than $600. They were repurposed in movies like “Alien” and Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” to torture bad aliens and bad gamblers.

Similar devices with similar technology were used on people with disabilities. Old-school behaviorists said it was a needed therapy.

New York banned this practice in 2005. In 2010, the United Nations labeled this as a form of torture. However, many states continued to allow this legalized abuse.

Advertisement

Ten years later, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), issued a final rule to ban the use of electrical stimulation devices to curb self-injurious or aggressive behavior. The FDA’s ruling overturned a decision that allowed the Judge Rotenberg Center, an institution for children with disabilities in Massachusetts, to use electric-shock devices.

Institutionalized children placed by local educational departments at a cost of over $1.3 million per student during a four-year period reside and are administered aversive conditioning within this center. Local child study teams choose this institution if they believe there are little other alternatives (they need to do more research). Local school taxes foot the bill for this modern medieval practice. The prohibition of electric shock devices was lifted this month.

Now, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the ban in July, ruling that “…the FDA lacks the statutory authority to ban a medical device for a particular use.”

A video of a young teenager at Rotenberg strapped face down and shocked 31 times over the course of seven hours because he would not take off his jacket at this center is easily found. He was screaming for help and asking for it to stop. He was hospitalized for a month. This court decision allows this inhumane approach to continue. There is even talk about using aversive conditioning again in California and other states.

Advertisement

I founded a nonprofit 32 years ago recognizing that institutional settings and aversive behavior modifications are wrong. At Community Options, we use only positive behavioral supports. We take the time to understand the needs of each person. We (and other agencies like ours) develop a customized plan and never resort to any punishments or negative conditioning. Strategies like trust, positive reinforcement and cognitive behavioral therapy are applied and we see positive results.

One ostensible success story is Rachel Hott. Rachel was placed into Rotenberg where she regularly received electric shock and aversive conditioning. In 2017, we moved Rachel to a small home in Maryland with staff from Community Options. Rachel’s behavior gradually improved while living in a neighborhood with positive support staff and local interaction.

In June 2021, Rachel graduated from high school. She proudly stood wearing a cap and gown to receive her high school diploma. Living in a home staffed with therapies like love and trust, she found the strength to succeed and lives a meaningful life devoid of torture.

We will continue to help children like Rachel across the country. Recently, we purchased a beautiful home for children with special needs in Penn Hills. In this home and in all of our homes, we will never use aversive conditioning. I am certain the children who live there will thrive.

Children should not continue to suffer because of bureaucratic equivocation. Electric shock must end. The FDA was right.

Robert Stack is the founder, president and CEO of Community Options Inc., which provides housing and employment for 5,000 people with disabilities across 10 states, including a residential facility in Penn Hills. He is a Pittsburgh-area native and graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School.

First Published: August 15, 2021, 10:30 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (4)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
President Donald Trump speaks at the Governors Working Session in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Feb. 21, 2025.
1
opinion
Bruce Ledewitz: The Supreme Court will step up and Trump will back down
Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden catches a pass against Ohio State during the second half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
2
sports
Which positions are strong and weak at NFL combine? And how will Steelers approach this draft?
La Grassa Pizza is now offering four-cut, late-night pies at The Vandal on Saturday nights.
3
life
Pittsburgh pizza news: La Grassa’s late-night pies and a big win for Mercurio’s
Two adults and a child were killed in a fire in Kittanning on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025.
4
local
2 adults, child killed in Kittanning fire
Pirates first-round pick Konnor Griffin hits against the Twins at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Florida, on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025.
5
sports
Pirates top pick Konnor Griffin has raised eyebrows at spring training. Next step is learning to be a pro
Rachel Hott
Advertisement
LATEST opinion
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story