Seclusion and Restraint practices can affect any child who has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). Seclusion, also called isolation or timeout, is forced isolation in a room or space where the child cannot escape. Restraint occurs when a child is restrained either by another person or using restraints to stop movement and/or block the child’s ability to hear or see.
Although individual school districts make their own policies on the use of seclusion and restraint in classrooms, Disability Rights Wisconsin strives to ensure these practices are not taken advantage of. If you believe these practices are violating a child’s human or legal rights, they must be stopped. Disability Rights Wisconsin works to ensure that all individuals with disabilities in Wisconsin can have full access to their civil rights, human rights, and human dignity.
Strategies
Disability Rights Wisconsin provides information, referral, advice, investigation, and, in select cases, legal representation to people with disabilities in Wisconsin who experience seclusion or restraint-based abuse or neglect. DRW also advocates at systems and policy levels to reduce abuse, neglect and rights violations and to ensure that existing systems meet their responsibilities to do the same.