NAA Action Alert: HR 4247‏

Originally sent through e-mail. If you do not wish to send communication through the National Autism Association, I will soon post addresses and phone numbers of key members of Congress.

Mailing Address:
National Autism Association
1330 W. Schatz Lane
Nixa, MO 65714
US

Contact Name: Wendy Fournier
Telephone Number: (877) 622-2884

Fellow parents at the National Autism Association feel the introduction of HR 4247, the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act, by Chairman George Miller (D-CA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) is a critical and necessary start to ending dangerous, even deadly, restraint and seclusion practices in our special education classrooms.

A May 2009 government report revealed that our schoolchildren, most of whom are diagnosed with autism, were tied up, hand-cuffed to desks, duct-taped, locked in small closets and bathrooms for hours at a time, beaten, taunted, chemically and mechanically restrained and even smothered to death. Many of the children are or were nonverbal. Many of their parents were not notified of repeated incidents, until it was too late.

It’s extremely difficult to believe such abuse would be happening in this day and age. It’s even more disturbing to know that federal regulations currently do not exist to protect our children.

ALL PROGRESS MADE WITH ABA, SPEECH THERAPY, OT AND BIOMEDICAL INTERVENTIONS COULD BE DRASTICALLY REDUCED WITH JUST ONE ACT OF ABUSE.

WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER AND ACT RIGHT NOW.

Please take two minutes to support long-overdue federal legislation that will serve to protect our most vulnerable schoolchildren.

Click here to ask committee members for their support – it’s quick and simple!

Also, if you are a constituent or have a relationship with Republican members on the Education and Labor Committee, please reach out to them and ask for their support in cosponsoring this bill.

If signed into law, the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act would:

*Prevent and reduce the use of physical restraint and seclusion in schools
*Protect students from physical or mental abuse
*Protect students from aversive behavioral interventions that compromise health and safety, including restraints that restrict airflow
*Prohibit any physical restraint or seclusion imposed solely for purposes of discipline or convenience
*Require parent notification within 24 hours
*Assist States, local educational agencies and schools in the areas of establishing policy; gaining tools, proper training & support; collecting and analyzing data; identifying and implementing effective evidence-based models to prevent and reduce physical restraint and seclusion in schools

Please click here to take this simple measure and ask for the support of HR 4247. You’ll make a substantial difference in protecting the lives of special needs children in their learning environment.

Sincerely,

The NAA Team