Susan Senator

I just received this notice of some new legislative amendments regarding the use of aversives in autism education and behavior management.  Please use this link to write to your legislator, if you are in Massachusetts!  See the ARC of Massachusetts’ message below:

The Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is proposing amendments to their regulations that will end the use of aversive interventions in Massachusetts. Aversive interventions–which include hitting, pinching, and electric shock–are used in treatment plans to modify an individual’s behavior.
But aversive procedures have never been shown to be effective methods of permanently altering behavior. Their only use is as a suppression of the symptoms, not the root cause, of undesired behaviors.

Other, non-invasive methods, which pose no risk to an individual’s well-being, have been developed and are effective not only during their use, but after the their withdrawl.

There are individuals across the Commonwealth who use aversive interventions as part of behavior modification plans, and the amendments allow these individuals to continue using aversives. But as a state, we need to move forward. The amendments take the positive step of banning aversive interventions for those partaking in behavior modification plans after September 2011.

So join us in making Massachusetts a better place for people with disabilites and support the new DDS regulations that ban aversives. Take action and submit your comments support the regulations.