Autism: Historical, Legal, and Unethical Practices - Assignment Example

Mostly, there are very many grey areas when it comes to applying ethics in corrective therapy for autistic students. The following discourse discusses the unethical nature of some of the techniques applied in schools to restrain autistic students. References are made to the video by Ross which was showcased on ABC News.

Historical Perspective
The significant historical autism observation is that the disorder was unknown in ancient cultures. History has it that it impartially “appeared” approximately 65 years ago. It was observed that people with autism had difficulties in learning. Such predicaments led to the establishment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which was in 1975. The act was intended to foster equal educational opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Ethical Perspective
States within the nation have varying regulations on the techniques used to manage autistic learners. School administrators, for instance, occasionally go overboard in restraining autistic students. In the videos by ABC news titled Deadly Discipline, an insightful look at the fate of autistic students and Death at School: Parents Protest Dangerous Discipline for Autistic, Disabled Kids the fate of the students at the learning institutions is revealed (Ross). An example is Andre, a student, who is subjected to unethical therapy because of his condition. The therapy is for his alleged misbehaviors. In brief, certain schools apply unethical means of controlling their students. For instance, they use seclusion rooms for autistic students and at times they even employ aggressive physical therapy. This is wrong and should be discouraged. Autistic learners need a conducive environment since they are normal human beings. The extreme methods currently used in schools are unethical.

Skin shock therapy as seen in the case of Andre in the ABC video is unethical. It is not right to subject one to 60 volts as a therapy procedure. The video even reveals a student stuffed in a duffle bag. The extremities of the measures adopted by school administrators leave the students autistic. Even seclusion in a room without a window is a little inhumane. What should be noted is that autistic learners need a support system that would enable them to develop in near-normal setups. This is why congress needs to look into the fate of students. A therapeutic approach should not leave the learners with medical conditions. A case in point is that of a student who died from cardiac arrest because of a barbaric restraint procedure. Parents in Arizona, for instance, have openly opposed such techniques.

Legal Perspective

When it comes to learners with a disability, the law has a tow tier approach. Firstly, there is the Act passed in 1974 to protect children from any form of aggression. Based on this law, some of the approaches used by school administrators would be illegal. In addition, in 1998 there was a law passed to protect people with various disabilities. Based on this, it is evident that the law protects autistic students from the forms of abuse that some of them are subjected to by school administrators.

Seclusion and restraint are common unethical practices when dealing with people with autism. This has also been witnessed in learning institutions which make these people a reduced chance of engaging in daily activities, social isolation, and fewer social chances while learning. Such children face discrimination while accessing education with other normal students which possess unethical challenges in such learning institutions. This creates the need to establish more specialized learning institutions to deal with the condition. Read More