Advocacy In Action is excited to welcome our guest presenter for the month of February, Guy Stephens, Founder and Executive Director for the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint (ASSR)
Join us February 9, 2022 at 8:00 p.m. EST for our next Advocacy in Action webinar, as part of our continuous series to raise awareness and promote advocacy for PWS and PWSA | USA!
Physical restraint is a personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move his or her torso, arms, legs, or head freely. Seclusion is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. Restraint and seclusion are aversive interventions often used by school personnel in crisis situations to manage behaviors of concern. These interventions are often used on the youngest and most vulnerable children, and disproportionately used on children with disabilities. Restraint and seclusion can lead to trauma, serious injuries, and even death in students, teachers, and staff. In this session, Guy Stephens, the founder and executive director of the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint, will discuss the impact restraint and seclusion are having on our schools and better ways to support students, teachers, and staff.
To learn more are the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint please visit: Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint – We can and must do better for our children! (endseclusion.org)
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Guy Stephens is a lifelong resident of Maryland, a father, a husband, and an advocate for children's rights. His journey in advocacy began as a parent, advocating for appropriate accommodations and supports for his autistic son. In 2018 Guy completed the Parents’ Place of Maryland's LEADers training, a parent leader program to develop leadership skills among parents of children with disabilities and special health care needs. In 2019, Guy completed the Maryland Coalition of Families Family Leadership Institute (FLI) 60-hour intensive training program for parents and caregivers of school-age children with mental health needs. Guy is currently a member of the Board of Directors for The Arc of Maryland. Guy is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) and presented at their 2020 annual conference. Guy is actively working to change policies and practices around the use of restraint and seclusion at the local, state, and federal level.
Guy is the Founder and Executive Director for the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint (AASR). Restraint and seclusion are outdated crisis management techniques used in schools across the nation. These interventions disproportionately impact disabled, Black, and Brown children. The practices are dangerous and can lead to significant trauma and injuries to students, teachers, and staff. AASR's mission is to educate the public and connect people who are dedicated to changing minds, laws, policies, and practices so that restraint and seclusion are reduced and eliminated from schools across the nation. AASR believes that our schools should be moving toward neurodevelopmentally informed, trauma-sensitive, biologically respectful, relationship-based ways of understanding, and supporting all students.
Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.