Behavior Modification
 

http://consumer.healthday.com/cognit...es-687189.html

I'm shocked this type of therapy is being used!

Putting electro shock collars on mentally disabled/disturbed people? That's torturing them. :mad:

Hell, people do it to their dogs. Why not to their kids? http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/images/smilies/wtf.gif

John

It was not that long ago when electro shock therapy was used in mental hospitals. In fact there was one here in MD that worked closely with a psychiatrist in the Royal Victoria hospital in Montreal. My former MIL (rest her soul) worked there at the Royal Vic.

I would like Tom Joad to schedule an appointment.

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

Electroconvulsive therapy was different. That made permanent changes to the "wiring" in your brain. This is "operant conditioning", a learned response to a stimulus.

John

I realize that John but the problem was that they never knew beforehand what the changes would be or whether they would be positive. It was like having someone operate a switchboard blindfolded. I don't consider the idea of using similar devices for 'behaviour modification' to be any more sensible let alone that it is also barbaric.

Some electro shock devices are useful as we well know having had our Son's AF rate of 225BPM reduced to 70BPM when he had that last attack using the paddles. The ten days of tests and corrective action taken appear to have worked since he has been attack free since then.

I had a neighbor who used to walk her two boys on a leash. She also yelled at them and bossed them around constantly, but didn't believe in spanking......because it's "cruel".

I imagine this device was made for such people.

Dave

Hope she doesn't ever get the idea of using the dog shock collars on 'em....

Well, it was long ago. I imagine they've grown and left the nest.......

Unless mother decided that was "unsafe" and forbade them to leave. Which wouldn't surprise me either.

Dave

Such use might be helpful in severe cases.

However its use should be heavily supervised with several legal "watch dogs".

I'd support this procedure on any and all Teabaggers, providing they use 48 KV.

Fixed that for ya. ;)

That dude sure has that glazed 'Bagger look in his eyes. He must have just finished listening to a stump speech by Rand Paul or Ted Cruz.;)

Hey Folks,
I've been lurking again.

I thought I would add my bit as I have two boys, both with autism.
I have never seen or heard of the "electro-shock" therapy as described. However, I do have to advocate for "behavior modification therapy". Generally it does involve a painful sensation when a negative behavior is exhibited. Generally a rubber band on the wrist and it gets snapped. I know, it seems like abuse, and I would agree, except for when and how it is used.

When a child/person, exhibits a behavior that is potentially lethal to themselves or others, something must be done. For us older folks, think of it as a swat on the but when we bit another child. We were probably 3-4 years old. Reasoning didn't help much, but fear of that swat went a long ways.

It should only be used when a behavior must be stopped and reasoning would not be an affective tool..

I gotta run and get the kiddo's ready for school.
be back soon.............
mark

I only ever struck my son once and he has turned out to be an excellent father. The only training I had was by example. I know that I must have disppointerd my parents at times as I know I am not perfect. But their love never wavered, it was the one comstant in my life. Dad passed on while I was in my thirties, Mom when I was fifty-two. I met Florence a week later I do believe they set it up.

I don't mind behavior modification as long as positive stimulus is used.

I like rewarding good behavior.

Barbara, generally speaking, at least according to the experts I have spoken with, rewards are typically more effective too. I have only used negative reinforcement for one behavior. That was biting. My kidos had a SEVERE biting problem. I found a small drop of hot sauce on my index finger and then onto their tongue, administered with a minute of them biting, was very effective. It took about three weeks to curb that behavior. I had tried for maybe 4 months of different strategies without success before I tried that.

JC I was going to mention the severely retarded girl I grew up with, two doors down, the mom and dad were almost second parents to me. When younger she could be very violent and was a large kid. I realize it's very different from your situation. Regardless I absolutely agree with you.

Pete

Not that long ago...you mean like this morning? ECT never stopped. ECT is being done on psych units every day, everywhere in this country. And I'm assuming in Canada as well. It's not the dramatized stuff like we saw in Cuckoo's Nest anymore (although it once was). It's refined and controled, with low levels of current used, over a series of treatments. But it's still ECT.

I don't know anything about shocking nail biters, or misbehaving pre-adolescents. I'd have to get a lot more information to make a personal determination of what I think of it.

But ECT can be a valuable intervention for people with chronic unresponsive mood disorders, primarily depression, for whom psychotropic meds have not provided any improvement. When I worked on a psych unit, I observed quite a few ECT sessions. The patients are sedated and most of the time it's impossible to tell that anything is happening at all.

I think it's up to those who have such illnesses to decide if it's helped them or not. And I've had several clients who report that it gave them their life back. Others feel it didn't help much at all. But that's the deal with chronic disorders.