US Politics Mega-thread - Page 946

On November 17 2018 10:34 Gahlo wrote:

This thread doesn't do the whole "I'm gonna dump a massive youtube video on you to watch as homework."

On November 17 2018 07:06 IgnE wrote:


it seems to me that my question pertains to the execution of ‘best practices,’ specifically to the question of how to execute them when apparently no one wants to

but now that you mention it, i do have serious doubts that anything like a ‘current best practices’ is ‘best,’ or even that it has obtained broad consensus. it seems more accurate to say that we have a list of ‘bad practices’ that bring shame and ignominy

On November 17 2018 13:06 Plansix wrote:
This is accurate. Chase is both terrible and dysfunctional on levels that are rivaled by few banks.

On November 17 2018 07:34 Plansix wrote:

I think your question assumes too much. First, that it assumes that no one wants to care of the special needs children with the exclusion of other factors, like pay. Or that there are not enough people willing to care for extreme cases of special needs children. Or that the children are so undervalued that the state is unwilling to provide funds to care for them sufficiently. It supposes an economic and or emotional cost assessment on the children and that because of those high costs, no one wishes to care for them.

I do not believe that is the case at all, giving my experience reading about the Judge Rotenberg Center for so many years. I do not believe desire to care for them is in short supply. These children have parents and families who do advocate for them. What they lack is sufficient, sustained advocacy toward legislation that would prohibit the practice and force the Judge Rotenberg Center to change. There are regulations that have prevented its use on new students, but nothing that would outright prohibit it. And because of that, the practice continues.

EDIT 2 - Electroshock therapy is a relic of behaviorism from the ‘40s-‘60s and I’m shocked (heh) that any state government is willing to provide funding to an agency that utilizes it.

On November 19 2018 12:21 m4ini wrote:
That's why i said i know what you meant, because i do.

I just flinch at the idea of calling it "therapy" nowadays. Not that i don't think there's people out there who'd deserve it, it certainly isn't kids that have mental illnesses.

Not to mention that i'd actually disagree with the notion that "punishment" should only be used as last resort, it just has to be proportionate. My nephew for example (which btw had aggression problems too through ADHD, didn't get electrocuted though) responds very well to gadget bans (he's 7).

I do think "punishment" as a form of learning that actions have consequences is important. I disagree that "beating the shit out of your kid" or electrocuting it is that. It's torture, nothing more. I wonder what people would say if, as i said, we suddenly cracked an actual whip. The only reason electroshocks are accepted is because it doesn't cause visual damage, like a whip would do. Might as well waterboard them, why not.

Sidenote, i actually did receive electro shock therapy before as well (just a very different kind, due to an infection i had a partial face paralysis, to preserve nerve and muscles, they contracted muscles etc via electroshocks - not for mental stuff though), and even on the low-ish setting that i received, it was painful as fuck.

Electroshock therapy is a relic of behaviorism from the ‘40s-‘60s and I’m shocked (heh) that any state government is willing to provide funding to an agency that utilizes it.

On November 19 2018 02:40 Ryzel wrote:
As a behavior analyst who has worked in the special education field for about a decade and at residential facilities for several years, I can say with confidence that the state of care for intellectually and physically disabled individuals, especially those that exhibit aggressive and/or adversarial behaviors, are appalling. Yes both the level of care and efficacy of treatments have made leaps and bounds over the past 100 years, but when baseline is being locked in cages 24 hours a day that’s not saying much.

The resources required to learn the skills to provide meaningful behavior change for these individuals do not come close to the resources being allocated to the providers. The one-on-one or one-on-two staff responsible for providing their personal care, meals, and enrichment throughout the day require only high school diplomas and get paid minimum wage. They are incentivized to do the bare minimum possible (sleeping with sunglasses on in individuals rooms, yelling at individuals to stay in their rooms, etc.) to make their jobs easier. Non-reported abuse (sexual, physical, and neglect) runs rampant, direct supervision is minimal, and the turnover rate in the field is so astronomical (with state mandated employee training so expensive) that agencies are incentivized to turn a blind eye.

That’s not to say that there aren’t genuinely caring staff, and those lucky individuals who receive their care are much more likely to thrive. I feel fortunate that my current place of employment is a cut above the rest in this regard, but they are still far from perfect, and it’s basically a gamble to get a “good” staff member.

TLDR; it’s better than it has been, but you still wouldn’t want to put a family member somewhere if you could help it.

EDIT -

Current best practice for treatment of autism is 20-30 hours a week of applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment from a registered behavior technician (RBT, $40-50 an hour average), with board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) providing around 10 hours a month of supervision ($1000 on average). That brings the cost to about $70k a year. This does not include medical expenses, actual day-to-day care of the individual, or cost of state services in providing residential placement or potential 911 calls.

There is simply NO way that the state can provide funding at levels that can maintain best practice. They’re barely able to provide funding for anything past the essentials. The only individuals receiving best practice treatment are those living at home and who have either rich families who can pay out of pocket, or families that have private health insurance.

EDIT 2 - Electroshock therapy is a relic of behaviorism from the ‘40s-‘60s and I’m shocked (heh) that any state government is willing to provide funding to an agency that utilizes it.

On November 19 2018 16:51 Slydie wrote:


My mother is a psychiatrist, and there are many myths around electroshock treatment caused by the dramatic effect they can provide in movies. The patients actually want the treatment to get a releaf from the real punishment: their severe mental illness...



Not really, it is very effecive against severe depression and other serious conditions. A fairly close family member had the treatment, the complains come when the doctors refuse to give it.

On November 19 2018 23:35 riotjune wrote:
My friend knew a guy who was struck by lightning. He said his personality changed after, like into a completely different person. Maybe his brain got totally rewired after the shock.