Disability advocates have been trying to shut down JRC for decades, especially after a video of a resident being shocked for seven hours<\/a> was shown in court in 2012. The institution offers schooling in addition to therapy, but it is mostly seen as a last resort and sought after for its use of behavioral treatments for kids and adults who have not responded to other types of therapy.\u00a0<\/p>\n The shock therapy treatment has faced legal challenges for years. The FDA started the process to ban it in 2013 and tried to outlaw it in 2020 before a federal appeals court judge overruled<\/a> the agency\u2019s decision. The institution has 347 residents, with 54 residents receiving some shock treatments, according to a JRC spokesperson.<\/p>\n Aleyda Martinez vividly remembers her first day at the institution, in 2002, when officials ripped a ring off her finger, a treasured gift from her best friend. The 14-year-old had spent her childhood bouncing around being \u201cbeaten and abused\u201d at foster homes and hoped that JRC would be different. Three years in the institution dashed those hopes. Martinez was routinely shocked for speaking out against any mistreatment, including anytime she spoke Spanish, her first language.<\/p>\n \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \u201cI still get PTSD with certain sounds, like if I get my nails done or get a tattoo, it\u2019s like certain sounds of that [device],\u201d said Martinez, now 38 and living in Alexandria, Va.<\/p>\n Robyn Linscott first learned about the treatments in 2011 while working as a special education teacher in New York City. One of her students had spent time in JRC and described his experience with the shocks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt dystopian, that this could actually be happening in a place that said that their mission was to help folks with disabilities,\u201d said Linscott, director of education and family policy at The Arc, a disability nonprofit serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear whether the past experiences of Martinez and Linscott\u2019s student are accurate to the current conditions at the institution. JRC Executive Director Glenda Crookes said that the center has to get approval from a person\u2019s family and from a judge to use the device on a resident. She acknowledged that a \u201ctwo-second shock\u201d is \u201cpainful,\u201d but that it is worth it for stopping certain behaviors, and the results are \u201camazing\u201d and \u201cmiraculous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[Someone] had been here for seven years. He was restrained all the time. \u2026 Imagine as a mom not being able to hug your child for seven years because they were too dangerous. And she came in and she said, \u2018We want to try the treatment. We\u2019ll give you 30 days.\u2019 Within 30 days, he was medication free. He was restraint free. He was attending his sister\u2019s bat mitzvah,\u201d Crookes recently said on a podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Martinez disagrees with Crookes\u2019 assertion that the device\u2019s benefits outweigh its cons.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey say that people\u2019s behavior changes, but it\u2019s because if they\u2019re on [a graduated electronic decelerator], they get shocked and it\u2019s like they\u2019re living in fear, walking on eggshells, like they didn\u2019t really change,\u201d said Martinez.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear how the FDA will rule on the issue, and a federal health spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the agency\u2019s plans. The federal appeals court overruled their 2020 ban by saying the agency didn\u2019t have the proper authority<\/a> to make that decision. Congress included a provision in its 2022 omnibus bill that gave the FDA the authority it was previously lacking to enact the ban. When the FDA posted the initial rule in 2024, the vast majority of comments were in favor of reinstating a ban.<\/p>\n Linscott wants the shocks to end to protect people like her brother, who is autistic and has had many periods in his life where he\u2019s had aggressive and self-injurious behavior.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve come so close, so many times,\u201d said Linscott. If the FDA were to not ban it, \u201cit would almost feel like salt in the wound.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP20064556586292-768x432.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\tSTAT Plus: FDA\u2019s proposed ban of electric shock devices has taken too long, autism advocates say<\/a><\/p>\n