Wednesday, May 26, 2010
8 am - 12 noon
In May of 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its report on the use of Restraint and Seclusion in public and private schools. The report outlined numerous cases of death, as well as thousands of cases of torment and abuse in association with unregulated, and loosely regulated, restraint and seclusion practices happening across the country.
It’s been almost a year since the GAO’s release of the restraint and seclusion report. What progress have we made in addressing the issue? What is the government doing, and where does the Department of Education stand on the issue? More importantly, what can we do as parents, caregivers, teachers, aides and therapists to protect our children and students from dangerous restraint and seclusion practices?
The Restraint and Seclusion Prevention Symposium will cover all facets of the R&S issue. From introducing the basic understanding of restraint and seclusion to discussing how to address the issue in your child’s IEP, presenters will offer applicable and useful information to help you preserve your child’s rights, protect your child from harmful restraint and seclusion practices, and provide materials designed to increase your child’s protection in the school setting.
Presenters will also provide invaluable tips on how to spot signs of abuse in your child and students, how teachers and aides can prevent dangerous situations in the classroom, and how you can help with federal and state legislative efforts.
Handout for the NAA Restraints and Seclusion Seminar for live streaming web users
Take-home reference materials will be provided.
Speakers:
Tim Adams, Esq.
Lynne Arnold, MA
Maria Cammarata, Esq.
Wendy Fournier
Lori McIlwain
Phyllis Musumeci
Schedule
8:00 - 8:40 Wendy Fournier & Lori McIlwain: Background & Basics of Restraint & Seclusion This presentation will define and differentiate the various types of restraint and cover the basic background of the issue. Crisis Prevention Institute illustrations demonstrating restraint methods that pose the highest risks to individuals will be provided.
8:50 - 9:45 Phyllis Musumeci & Maria Cammarata, Esq.: Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion This presentation will provide unique insight into the improper use of restraint and seclusion in the school system. A parent advocate will tell her passionate story of what happened to her son, his needless suffering, her lack of knowledge of the problem at the time and her decision to educate other parents, advocates, legislators and advocate for laws to protect children from restraint and seclusion in the public school system.
Learn about the myths and facts of restraint and seclusion.
. Why did it take so long to raise awareness?
. What you can do to help make changes?
. Updates on the federal law (The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act).
Restraint and seclusion are seen as treatment failures and should only be used as a last resort when risk of harm is imminent. Maria Cammarata, Esq.
will provide simple strategies to teach parents how to effectively apply law from the IDEIA that may help prevent restraint and seclusion in schools.
Learn how and when to request school and independent evaluations and how to use this information to help meet your child's academic and behavioral needs in school. Prevention is key.
9:55 - 11:30 Lynne Arnold, Tim Adams, Esq. & Maria Cammarata, Esq.: IEP Strategies for Preventing Abusive Restraint and Seclusion How can parents prevent their child being abused at school with inappropriate restraint and seclusion? In this session, proactive IEP strategies will be discussed from three different perspectives: the law, advocacy and behavior modification. Parents will learn how to take charge of their child's behavior assessment and plan while enhancing the entire individual education plan. The importance of evidence-based methodologies will be emphasized with discussion on applying appropriate approaches to the child's individual needs.
11:40-noon Phyllis Musumeci: Federal Legislation to Help Prevent Restraint & Seclusion - How you can take action A short update on the federal legislation and simple steps on how to take action.
Timothy A. Adams, Esq.
received his Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Irvine and his Juris Doctorate degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. He has served as an adjunct professor and Associate Director of the Special Education Advocacy Clinic, Pepperdine University School of Law. He is actively involved in educating parents through presentations to disability rights organizations and parent support groups including speaker at Autism One (2005-2008), the National Autism Association (2005 and 2007-2008) and the National Epilepsy Foundation Annual Conference (2001). He has been interviewed and quoted in publications including the Daily Journal (2001), the Orange County Register and the nationally published magazine Parenting (March 2003); He is Roberts & Adams' Chief Executive Officer.
Lynne Arnold, MA
is the chapter director for Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) of Visalia, CA and an Autism One parent mentor. Through conference presentations and mentoring, she helps parents to understand their child's rights to appropriate interventions and education. Lynne is the editor of Autism: Asserting Your Child's Rights to a Special Education by David A. Sherman. She has presented at Autism One (2005-2008), National Autism Association Conference (2005 and 2007-2008), Families for Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT, Autism Society of America and for other autism groups.
Maria M. Cammarata, Esquire
is a mother of three children, the oldest of whom is on the autism spectrum. She is the president and director of Reveresco Learning Services in South Florida. This organization serves the unique role of providing applied behavior analysis services and social skills classes along with special education advocacy training for parents of children with autism and related disabilities. Throughout the year, Maria holds complimentary training workshops for families about a variety of special education topics under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and state laws. Her past experience includes serving as Corporate Counsel for an international franchise company and working as an advocate for a nonprofit organization that provides free special education advocacy services for disabled children. Maria also works with Families Against Restraint and Seclusion (FARS) to advocate for state and federal legislation and help promote proven behavior interventions in public schools. This work has been among her most rewarding and helped lead to the creation of Reveresco Learning Services. Maria received her JD from Ohio Northern University College of Law.
Wendy Fournier
is the president and a founding board member of the National Autism Association.
After several years in the promotional products industry, Wendy founded a home-based web development company that allowed her to have a career in web design and be a full-time Mom. When her youngest daughter was diagnosed with autism, doctors gave her little hope. She began to research treatment options via the internet, where she discovered that there is indeed a great deal of hope - autism is treatable.
Wendy is committed to changing the perspective of autism from what was once considered a mysterious mental illness to a biologically definable and treatable medical disorder. She attends and speaks at conferences throughout the US. She works closely with non-profit organizations on a state and national level and runs a support group for parents of children on the spectrum. Wendy currently serves on the RI State Commission to study the education of children with autism, as a consumer reviewer for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for Autism Research through the U.S. Department of Defense, and is a founding board member of the Gottschall Autism Center. Wendy and her husband Paul live in Rhode Island with their three children.
Lori McIlwain
is the co-founder and chairperson of the board of the National Autism Association. Lori began her career in radio and television and has focused primarily on conceptual development, commercial copywriting, and media strategies on the agency side. She has an extensive and diverse background in advertising, marketing, public relations, and consumer behavior working with national, regional and local accounts. Her fight for a cure began right after her only son, Connor, was diagnosed with autism. Her husband Christian is also very pro-active in the autism fight and is committed to finding a cure.
Wendy Fournier and Lori McIlwain present: RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION: What you can do to keep your child and your students safe
This presentation will define and differentiate the various types of restraint as well as cover the deadly and abusive side to restraint and seclusion. We’ll learn what is most dangerous and why, and we’ll provide essential tips to keep your child and students safe. Three case studies will be shared as well as Crisis Prevention Institute illustrations demonstrating restraint methods that pose the highest risks to individuals. The emotional debate, along with the National Autism Association’s position on restraint and seclusion and current Federal legislation, will also be covered.
Phyllis Musumeci
is a national parent advocate committed to educating families, legislators and school districts about the dangers of restraint, seclusion and aversive treatments used on children with autism spectrum disorders and other disabilities, illuminating why things need to change. In 2005, Phyllis pulled her son, Christian, out of the 8th grade because he was having a breakdown. Christian has autism, and, although Christian could speak, he could not communicate his pain. Further, due to a lack of transparency in the school system, it took one year for Phyllis to learn that her son had been subjected to almost daily restraint and isolation for nearly two years in his school. After learning of these practices, she founded Families Against Restraint and Seclusion (FARS) in 2007. FARS is one of the only organizations families may contact to report such abuses and receive support. It has received several hundred reports of restraint and seclusion in schools from families across the country and has tracked countless news stories nationwide. FARS has formed alliances with different disability rights organizations to help pass federal and state legislation and is a member of the national organization APRAIS. Phyllis has been invited to several federal press conferences and hearings on the issue of restraint and seclusion in public schools. She co-wrote current Florida House Bill 81, "Use, Prevention, and Reduction of Seclusion and Restraint on Students with Disabilities in Public School."
Phyllis Musumeci presents: Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion
This presentation will provide unique insight into the improper use of restraint and seclusion in the school system. A parent advocate will tell her passionate story of what happened to her son, his needless suffering, her lack of knowledge of the problem at the time and her decision to educate other parents, advocates, legislators and advocate for laws to protect children from restraint and seclusion in the public school system.
Learn about the myths and facts of restraint and seclusion.
- Why did it take so long to raise awareness?
- What you can do to help make changes?
- Updates on the federal law (The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act).
Restraint and seclusion are seen as treatment failures and should only be used as a last resort when risk of harm is imminent. Maria Cammarata, Esq. will provide simple strategies to teach parents how to effectively apply law from the IDEIA that may help prevent restraint and seclusion in schools. Learn how and when to request school and independent evaluations and how to use this information to help meet your child's academic and behavioral needs in school. Prevention is key.
www.nationalautismassociation.org
