“Isolation Box” Stirs Controversy At Elementary School
The booth is reportedly used to calm disabled students when they turn violent.
Mint Valley Elementary School in Longview, Washington, is receiving complaints over its “isolation box” — a ventilated padded booth apparently used to calm disabled students with behavioral problems — after parent Ana Bate posted a photo of it on Facebook. A sample of comments from fellow parents, via KATU News:
“seriously … have the police been notified that this is being used??”
“that is terrible and should NEVER be used regardless if the child is out of control or not.”
“if a parent did that at home they would get put in jail!!!”
The school told KATU these parents may not have all the facts. Of the 6,500 students in the Longview School District, spokeswoman Sandy Catt says, only eight or nine students use the isolation box, and all have parent permission. Students are locked in the box, but a staff member is always monitoring outside of it.
But that hasn’t changed some parents’ minds about the danger of the booth. KATU News reports that Bate’s 10-year-old son once saw “a female aide came up behind a boy, [pick] him up off the floor and [drop] him into the isolation box. He landed on the floor and cried the entire time.”
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- kelseym8 thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- AHIMSAWORLD "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At...
- angiepearlm thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- lesleyh5 thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- erickabvb "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At...
- berenice thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- Tess thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is Win
- javierg3 thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
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- fossilgoth thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF & Fail
- allisonp thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- Nick thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- Grace S thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- anitamhsieh thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
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jahrens 6 months agoAlso my brother worked in a school with all the kids having some kind of anger management or disorder if some kind. He would actually have sit on a kid who has bi polar disorder and would try to harm himself and others until he calmed down. After that the kid loved everyone again. The stories my brother told are pretty bad, I can see why they have these rooms. And after reading other comments of people who have familywith disorders, I feel for them.
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jahrens 6 months ago
My school had one, we had a behavior disorder class. The halls were always lined with desks that they had thrown at each other (they finally nailed the desks to the floor). And a teacher was chased through the school by a student who grabbed the scissors and tried to stab the teacher. They also tried stabbing each other with pens and pencils. So ya I agree with the padded room. But only if the student is a risk of hurting others.
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- criminalmastermind thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- danielflamingo thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is Ew & Fail
- benr11 "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... and thinks it’s Fail & WTF
- adriennew7 "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At...
- katiep5 "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... and thinks it’s WTF & OMG
- jakeh21 thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is Win
- phanh14 thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- torsl965 "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... and thinks it’s OMG & WTF
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- alyssapetry thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- Kariered "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At...
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- iriszn thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is LOL
- meganmcmillenk "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At...
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Lula 6 months ago
My brother in law has severe mental and physical dissabilities. He is 21 but has a mental age of about 2. I’m sure you’ve all seen a toddler throw a tantrum - now imagine that same toddler is 5ft 10, weighs 85 kgs and is paralysed in the left leg and arm. Sometimes when very frustrated he tries to hit his head hard on the wall, attempts to stop him have ended with punches, bites, pinches, scratches. If he gets very angry there is strangling, eye gouging and ripping chunks of hair out. He has done all of these things to me, his brother and mother, but we put up with it because we love him and don’t want him to hurt himself. And because alternatives like this are frowned on by people with NO IDEA of what it can be like. I’d like all the people calling this lazy or barbaric to spend a few hours trying to calm a severely disabled child with challenging behaviours
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- brittanyleighb "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... and thinks it’s Trashy, WTF & Ew
- hawkdaddy13 thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- Shaaalien "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... and thinks it’s Fail & WTF
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- beerchen thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
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Frogamigo 6 months ago
As someone who works professionally with children with significant behavioral and sensory impairments, i am very familiar with this type of room. It is used as a LAST RESORT to help a child calm down and de-escalate in a SAFE way where other children, staff, and the child himself is protected from harm. Multiple staff members are present and parents are given full information verbally and in writing before it is used. I have seen children slam their own heads repeatedly against walls, throw sharp items, scream and strip totally naked, swear, urinate, and all kinds of stuff. The breakdown is at a whole other level, one of complete psychosis and/or level of unsafety and sadly this is sometimes the only thing you can do until they are calm enough to be safe! Also ask yourself what you would want if this type of child were in the same class as your vulnerable special-needs child, would you want staff to be able to safely deescalate the child or prefer that they be exposed to a dangerous and toxic situation in which no learning occurs! They do need to add a large window to the door and ensure adequate ventilation however.
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MMR 6 months ago
It’s so easy for bleeding-heart liberals to denounce proven practices that actually can protect the kid throwing the tantrum and everyone else. I’m glad to see someone has some sense after scrolling through comments that were obviously made by people who are unfamiliar with the reason the booth exists.
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- christopherh15 "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At...
- stephanies50 "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At...
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christopherh15 6 months agoWhen I started working in special Ed I thought it was crazy too until I understood they don’t just put “bad” kids in isolation and it is not a punishment. These are for children with emotional disabilities and cannot control their actions. There are very specific laws governing their use as well. You have no idea how much is required to handle a child with emotional disabilities.
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- Scott J. "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At...
- jerryp5 thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF, OMG & Trashy
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stephanies50 6 months agoI agree nothing too see here. And since when does being a parent automatically make you an expert of everything including children with mental handicaps? Geez lady keep your nose to yourself.
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- AngelsChoice "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... and thinks it’s WTF & Fail
- Metropolitan Grey thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
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- lchilese "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... and thinks it’s WTF
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gabriellakp 6 months agoChildren do not do well being alone and locked up and certainly not children with Autism. This is a very lazy and cruel way to work with a child who is Autistic or having issues with his/her temper. How can this even be legal and what parent in their right mind would agree to this? Children with Autism need a calm and caring trained adult to help them cope, not a prison. No child deserves this. If someone locked me in their I would become angrier not calmer. Take the child outdoors to get some exercise, run it off. This is just barbaric.
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- koreym thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is Fail, WTF & OMG
- Imindiemmy thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- kerrit2 "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... and thinks it’s Fail, Ew & WTF
- kellyp9 thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is Fail, OMG & WTF
- martinj281 thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is Trashy, WTF & Ew
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- nerdynagy thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF
- NoraVH thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is OMG
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- williamfirewulfbrunsonj added Gangnam Style (강남스타일) to the mix about 6 months ago
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lucym2 6 months agoIn some situations, this is the only safe option left. I work with a young man who will seek out non-padded spots of wall, as well as staff members, in order to injure himself or others. Smaller space = smaller chance of injury for everyone. There is sometimes no way that anyone or anything will help get them to feel calm, other than time & space. I agree, it should never be used as a punishment, but that fact that a rare few have shouldn’t prevent the majority from using it as a valuable tool.
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- Oscar T. thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF & Fail
- celeste zamora thinks "Isolation Box" Stirs Controversy At... is WTF & Fail
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VWchick 6 months ago
Some types of conditions only respond to this type of treatment. This is not used for the “normal” child. Look up aversion therapy, that will explain more. It’s unfortunate that the school has chose not to use this for the time being because others do not understand children with special needs..
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