are "time-out" rooms in schools abuse?

Personally, I favor making disruptive children run laps.

and what would you do with a severely disabled self-abusive autistic 8 yr old child?

What exactly are "time-out" rooms? Something like a "school jail"?

Aren't schools for disabled just thought to deal with .... well, students with disabilties, behavioral disorders ...?

(I know that there are special "time-out" rooms in German prisons. But prisoners can only be sent there with a juridical order.)

People all too often just want control. Nurturing kids is a foreign concept.

THREE HOURS!!!????

Any 8 year old locked in a room for three hours by themselves is being abused.

I can't even begin to think what might lead someone to lock an autistic 8 year old in a room by themselves at school for 15 minutes.

I had no idea that "time out rooms" existed in schools!

I'm surprised that the child was left alone in a room, and I presume, upset, for three hours. If I were the parent of a child with autism, I'd be upset too.

When I worked in the public school system in Bangor, Maine, (l998-2001-) we had a self-contained classroom with five severely impaired children who were effected by autism or brain damage due to seizure disorder.

These children were nonverbal and most were not toilet trained despite being between the ages of 5-8. There was a one-to one ratio of staff or faculty to child, so that when these children had episodes of self-abuse or decompensation, they could be taken to the ' quiet room' in which the child and the staff member assigned to that child could have privacy to deal with the episode and whatever stimulus may have triggered it.
This often consisted of playing soft music, and helping the child calm by implementing a therapeutic hold.

It's very important to employ people who have been trained to deal with children with autism or seizure disorders, because if people don't understand what the child is doing, or why, they become impatient and resentful and react with impatience and actual cruelty.

Unfortunately, many one-on-one aids are people who do not have training in dealing with these disorders. They are untrained people who are paid minimum wage for what is an extremely difficult and demanding job - physically and emotionally.

Find him/her a special needs instructor.

This is the ugly downside to the push to "main-stream" children with special needs.

YES!! I couldn't agree more DrewDad.

I once read that time-outs should be one minute per year of age. I think a five minute time-out is not excessive, but it should be more like sitting at the edge of class (the old go sit in the corner), not three hours in a separate room.

This is a single act which I hope and fully expect is an aberration.

Unless there is evidence that similar instances occur with significant frequency it is not evidence of a "ugly side" to mainstreaming or an indictment of "time-out rooms."

Abuse is abuse.

The concept of a "time out" space or room is not ipso facto abuse any more than having a cocktail is abusing alcohol.

This discussion is an extension of an unfortunate and ultimately fruitless trend of zero-tolerance for undesirable outcomes.

Eliminating processes and techniques because it is possible to abuse them is irrational.

Eliminating them because it is probable that they will be abused is, arguably, rational, but one incident doesn't predict probability.

my personal experience as a child protection worker re "time-out" rooms, I was often in classrooms of several different school districts, depending on the "philosophy" of the principle at each school some "time-out" rooms were built into classrooms (both elem and middle schools) which were in all actuality soundproof closets with 3 sides made of see-thru glass and a 4th side which included a wooden door, this was usually in the middle of the classroom or against one wall. There were no established guidelines as to amount of time a child could be kept in time-out. I was very clear to the teachers, principles and school superintendents that I consider such to be felony child abuse and would, in fact, file charges in district court.

I reiterate what I stated above.
Although I agree with you Finn, one incident does not predict probablitilty, I do think that the reality of mainstreaming has put these children in classrooms with children and adults who do not understand them or their particular needs and were not trained and do not want to deal with them or their particular needs.

And I'm not saying this is unreasonable. If a teacher has decided that s/he is interested in teaching typically learning second graders and trains to do that- why is it automatically expected that s/he will know how or be trained to deal with a self-abusing and out of control child with autism? And even if she has undertaken training, if she doesn't WANT to deal with this particular type of learning disability- don't you think that will affect how well s/he does deal with that child?

I don't think people have a realistic view of what trying to 'teach' an autistic child may entail. I know when I worked in the classroom I did, which I had trained to work in and wanted to- it entailed a seventy pound eight year old (I weigh about 120 lbs.) physically attacking me and/or pulling my hair out by the handful from the roots with absolutely no warning at any given moment.
It entailed being smeared with faeces that the child had gotten on his hands by compulsively having his hands in his diapers.

Some of these children are absolutely tortured - not by anything anyone is doing to them - by what would be considered normal stimulus that you and I can filter and process which they are unble to.

It is a crime and a shame for them to have to be in classrooms with teachers who do not know why they are doing what they're doing or how to deal with it.

They should be with trained teachers who WANT to work with them.

Unfortunately, this is not most often the reality in schools where mainstreaming, no matter what the disability, is the given.

And I personally think that one-on-one aids should be paid higher salaries.
Their job is at least as hard as the certified teacher's, if not more so- and they're paid half as much - and that's if they're lucky.

I would file charges too! When my daughter was in second grade she was
sent outside the classroom for a "time out" when she was unruly. She had
a sugar rush from a donut (recess birthday) and couldn't stop giggling.
Even then, I sent a rather stern letter to the principle that I disapprove of
such disciplinary actions. We all sat together and came up with a much better
solution.

That's all delightful, but what support and guidance did you provide to the teachers?

1. I was a child-protection worker not an educator
2. I offered every teacher that I would work with them one-on-one to develop a behavior management program specifically for any child needing one (a specific responsibility of the school district called an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) mandated by federal law in the US.

You don't need to be an educator to provide support and guidance to teachers. You already know that.

IEPs/IRPs etc etc - all well and good if the resources are there. Comparatively easy to prepare, not so easy to implement given the realities of funding and staffing.

~~~

"are time-out rooms in schools abuse?" Doesn't appear you were doing anything with that title other than plopping your opinion out there. Not exactly an invitation to discuss/consider/review options and alternatives.

I was an educator teaching high school science.

One of my students had Tourette's. He was a good student with occasional outbursts.

I was very grateful as a teacher to have very good support. There was a IEP with specific instructions that involved a way to communicate when he was being disruptive (a subtle sign) and an agreed upon way to give space when he needed it without confrontation.

Most important, the school set up communication between the student, the parents and the teachers which allowed everyone to be involved in, and agree on, how to address the issues involved.

The key is to focus on problem solving, where everyone is working together on creating the best possible educational environment, rather than on punishment. Once you demonize the student... how could you possibly provide a decent education?

These "time-out rooms" sound horrible.

all I know is what I read in the papers;
http://blog.seattlepi.com/schoolzone/archives/151991.asp