A Pro-Rotenberg Center Mom?

The Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) is fighting off accusations that its practice of skin-shocking children with serious psychological issues is barbaric. Yet those accusations seem justified after several JRC staff members at a home in Stoughton listened to a prank caller and shocked one of its residents 77 times, sending that student to the hospital for first-degree burns.

Why would a parent submit a child—no matter how disturbed the child may be—to that kind of torture? (Bostonist doesn't buy that the shocks are equal to mere "bee stings.") The New York Times found one parent who defended the school because of how much it helped her daughter. Susan Handon said that it stopped her daughter from harming other people and herself.

The author of the Times piece, Leslie Kaufman, makes a solid attempt to address the other side of the argument. She also writes that the JRC never expels a student and takes the cases that no other school would.

It's worth noting that she speaks to only Handon and to no other parents. And sure, Handon has allowed the JRC to treat her daughter, but how would she feel if her daughter received skin-shocks for no reason, such as for a prank call? Since the school costs $228,000 a year, one would think the parents, even those who believe in skin-shock, should demand better service.

The opinions stated in this post belong solely to this Bostonist. Image of the JRC from its website.