Comparisons With The Treatment of Political PrisonersComparisons With The Treatment of Political Prisoners
A monograph published by TASH (formerly, The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps) compares the types of aversive procedures used with children and adults who are disabled with those used in the torture of political prisoners as reported by Amnesty International. In both populations, freedom is severely restricted for long periods of time without the victim having broken any laws. The authors of the TASH paper found that although the intensity of the aversive procedures used on some political prisoners was frequently more severe, the types of aversive procedures used with both populations correspond closely. Many children and adults with mental retardation spend decades, or even lifetimes in environments in which the use of aversive techniques is status quo.
As noted earlier, Amnesty International has defined torture as "The systematic and deliberate infliction of acute pain in any form by one person on another or on a third person in order to accomplish the purpose of the former against the will of the latter". It is well known that victims of torture experience lasting physical and emotional effects. A recent study looked at the effects of torture on forty-four survivors of torture who had emigrated to the United States, mostly from Chile, Argentina, and other Latin American countries. Most of the survivors had been detained and tortured between 1973 and 1976. A decreased ability to concentrate (59%), memory problems (59%), anxiety (38%), difficulty in establishing new relationships (32%) and difficulty with feeling emotions (27%) were found. A comparable study in Canada of forty-one torture survivors found similar results. Most of the survivors studied reported suffering from anxiety and depression. About one third reported suffering from emotional withdrawal, irritability, aggressiveness, or impulsivity.
It can be assumed that the psychiatric effects that plague former victims of torture would also plague the victims of aversive procedures. Many people with mental retardation experience, on a daily basis, the frustration of trying to keep pace with a society that places high value on intellectual capacity. They are already victimized by formal and informal policies that undermine their ability to be fully contributing members of their communities. In addition, individuals with mental retardation are far more likely than the general population to have a neurological or a major language disorder. For these and other reasons, people with mental retardation suffer disproportionately from a range of emotional problems including depression, adjustment disorders and anxiety disorders. There is irony in the fact that in the effort to eliminate aggressive and impulsive behaviors, practitioners employ techniques that have been proven to result in such behaviors. The use of aversive procedures must be viewed as an inexcusable burden on an already oppressed and devalued population.