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"She asked the teacher what the box was for and said the teacher told her it was for Jacob," recalled Amatuccio. "She would wheel him in there and let down the flap. He was all alone, in the dark, in a box. She used it to calm him down, as a form of time out."
The other parent snapped a photo of the box sitting in the classroom back in mid-April and said the box disappeared about three days later.
"What kind of person puts a child in a box? What kind of person puts a disabled child in a box or any human being in a box," asked Amatuccio.
Amatuccio said the first time she ever heard of the punishment or the box was Monday night.
She said when she called the Hudson Middle School principal to report it, he admitted he knew about the time out box.
It's very large box on it's side with a flap. He was wheeled in and then a flap closed off the top half of the box. At one point it's mentioned that the student student liked to go in there to calm down. Which I don't see a problem with, if it's safe. However, the mother doesn't like the idea at all.
The fact is, some kids will like the enclosed space. I've seen kids sit under their desk or find a covered area to sit. If it calms a student down then why not use it? I wonder if it looked prettier, if it would have been an issue?
Sounds like Temple Grandin's cow machine, as shown in the movie about her life. She built it herself because the enclosed feeling calmed her down, but her college roommate and the authorities thought it was just plain odd and had it removed.
If the student liked being in the box, what's the problem?
And was it really a punishment or was it a calming technique?
I always find it interesting how things like this get "escalated" by people who don't know much about special education. Misquotes, misinformation...I had a small box, that was a sensory box, called a "little room", It was about the size of a card table. Kids would go in it, to do sensory exercises. They loved it. The Little Room « Little Ladybug Hugs
Many people stare at boxes all day. We have a fascination with boxes. TV box, computer box, phone box, ...many classrooms at school are also boxes. Cars are a lot like boxes.
I always find it interesting how things like this get "escalated" by people who don't know much about special education. Misquotes, misinformation...I had a small box, that was a sensory box, called a "little room", It was about the size of a card table. Kids would go in it, to do sensory exercises. They loved it. The Little Room « Little Ladybug Hugs
I have also had many students who wanted to be in small dark areas to relax & would find it very calming.
OMG---I hope that no one sees a child, who wants & needs deep pressure, to be "made into a sandwich" (between two gym mats) or "rolled into a burrito" (rolled into a rug or weight blanklet like swaddling an infant).
I think that if the box had been decorated like a fire truck or submarine it might have been more acceptable. "Oh, that is the fire truck that "Joey" likes to go in and pretend he is a fire man....".
I had a child working on swallowing. He had a problem with textures, and the goal was getting him off the feeding tube. He often chewed the food, and spit it out. Then would eat it again....we were reported for "forcing" a child to eat his own vomit. How is that for "misinformation"?!
Nearly every student with autism (and, yes, I know the student in question has TBI) I have ever worked with has actively sought out tight, enclosed, and often dark and quiet spaces to come down from sensory overload. We work with many therapeutic devices and approaches, from weighted blankets to low-light rooms to tiny tents. If I were working with a student who was able to find relief from sensory processing overload and preferred to chill out in a cardboard box, I'd for darned certain make sure that he or she had that available.
That said, the article notes that it was used as a behavioral intervention. Seclusion by choice is one thing. Seclusion as a safety precaution is another, and seclusion as a punishment is yet another. If it's a behavioral intervention, and not one that was agreed upon as a part of his IEP, the legally binding document that would note such things, it shouldn't be used, plain and simple. I have no way of knowing how much of the reportage was accurate, but behavioral interventions need to be agreed upon by all parties on the IEP team, including parents, and if this device was used as a behavioral intervention, it needs to be in the plan...and it sounds like it's not.
I think that if the box had been decorated like a fire truck or submarine it might have been more acceptable. "Oh, that is the fire truck that "Joey" likes to go in and pretend he is a fire man....".
I think the difference is "likes to go in," versus being put there for "time out," in an unapproved behavioral intervention.
Whether this child wanted it or not makes all the difference.
I agree. If he was forced against his will, then total abuse; but if willingly went inside, then it's theraputic.
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