This is a call to action. This needs immediate attention. If you do not know about the court ruling overturning the FDA ban on electronic shock devices for autistic and other intellectually and/or developmentally disabled individuals at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusettes, you need to.

Back in March, the FDA banned a device called the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED), ruling that it was unethical. They stated that the potential for harm far outweighed any benefit for medical use that it could have. This device was meant to be used as a tool to discourage self-injurious or aggressive behavior and is only the third ban of its type in FDA history.

However, the ban was postponed due to COVID, and this week, the Judge Rotenberg Center (the only facility in the whole country which still subscribed to the use of these devices) went to court and managed to get the ban overturned in a 2-1 vote, which concluded “that the FDA lacks the statutory authority to ban a medical device for a particular use.”

That doesn’t change the fact that the device is unethical. Nor does it change the fact that other facilities seem to manage without this particular device, so clearly there is a way. And you can help to ensure that these devices are never used again.

The first thing that you can do is to raise awareness that this is still happening in this country today.

The second thing you can do is speak to your state’s representatives regarding an act that will help put an end to seclusion and restraint in an educational setting and eventually lead to permanently banning the GED and other devices like it. The act is called the Keeping All Students Safe Act or KASSA.

You can find more information about how to contact your state’s representatives and even a template for doing so by going to AuTeach.com and clicking the link down at the bottom. Let’s all work together to end unethical practices in the name of mental health.