Autism Speaks has applauded the recent decision made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which proposes a ban on electrical stimulation devices (ESDs) for autism.
The devices are typically used to curb aggressive or self-injurious behavior in children and adults who have severe developmental disorders, like autism. This issue and these devices are a controversial topic among health care professionals.
Autism Speaks released a statement applauding the proposal. Studies have not shown any support for using painful aversive conditioning to treat autism or other developmental disorders.
The ban is particularly important for forbidding the use of ESDs on children and adults who have disabilities that don’t allow them to communicate their needs, their pain or their consent to these kinds of treatments.
Almost all of the mental health hospitals and autism centers within the U.S. have completely disavowed ESDs and aversive shock therapy; unfortunately, using ESDs is still legal across the nation. In fact, an educational center for children who have severe developmental disabilities is known to create and use ESDs.
“The FDA takes the act of banning a device only on rare occasions when it is necessary to protect public health,” according to the statement from Autism Speaks. “The medical literature shows that ESDs present risks of a number of psychological harms including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, fear, panic, substitution of other negative behaviors, worsening of underlying symptoms and learned helplessness (becoming unable or unwilling to respond in any way to the ESD); and the devices present the physical risks of pain, skin burns and tissue damage.”
