Judge Rotenberg Center GED Shock Device Hill Day

AUTISTIC & DISABLED Residents are being SHOCKED ⚡️ for behaviors deemed inappropriate by staff at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, MA.

The #STOPTHESHOCK Coalition 2023 is working to pass Bill H.180 which would put an end to Autistic & Disabled Residents of the JRC getting SKIN SHOCKS as a form of Behavior Modification

Background information:

Since the 1990s, The Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, MA has been using the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED) device to shock Autistic & Disabled Residents as a form of Behavior Modification. The Shocks are given in the form of 2 second electric shocks to various parts of the body through a remote control at the discretion of staff. In 2013, the Special Rapporteur declared that the use of the GED device violated the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

Imagine being given shocks multiple times a day, for doing anything outside your behavior plan. Many Residents are shocked for being non-compliant, which can be for things as simple as standing up when they are not supposed to. For many students, they have been shocked for many years, and have developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

In December of 2022, after decades of persistent advocacy work, the FDA was granted the right to ban this device. However, they responded to this power by stating that “the agency is reviewing the provisions in the omnibus bill and evaluating their impact with regard to oversight of these devices."

While this is a disappointing change in direction from an outright ban, we still have options. House Bill H180 (An Act Regarding The Use of Aversive Therapy) is currently in the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. The Bill states "No program, agency, or facility funded, operated, licensed, or approved by any agency or subdivision of the Commonwealth shall administer or cause to be administered to any person with a physical, intellectual, or developmental disability any procedure which causes obvious signs of physical pain, including, but not limited to, hitting, pinching, and electric shock for the purposes of changing the behavior of the person."

This would effectively ban the GED Shock Device!

We ask all of you to help this campaign with a small donation. Passing the bill would be the next step in the fight against the GED Devices and Judge Rotenberg Center.