Trump may finally make it illegal to shock autistic kids as punishment – after kicking the issue down the road
President Donald Trump’s administration could finally move to make it illegal to use electrical stimulation devices to shock children with autism as a form of punishment, after kicking the can down the road last year.
In March 2024, under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, the Food and Drug Administration introduced a new rule to outlaw the practice but it was not acted upon before the Democrat left office. It was then postponed to allow for further time to consider the matter.
An update posted on the FDA’s website, spotted by Mother Jones, now indicates that a decision will be made in the coming days.
When the rule change was initially proposed two years ago, American Academy of Pediatrics President Benjamin Hoffman wrote that using ESD’s to apply high-voltage charges to the skin of patients who exhibit “self-injurious or aggressive behaviors” served only to place the recipients “at high risk for both physical and psychological traumas.”
Hoffman listed as likely consequences “depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders, pain, burns, tissue damage, and the worsening of self-injurious behaviors and aggressive behaviours,” indicating it could actually exacerbate the behaviors it seeks to correct, rather than soothe them.
He added that the use of the devices represents “a flagrant breach of ethical treatment” and endangers “the physical, psychological, emotional well-being of hundreds of children, adolescents, and young adults,” expressing strong support for a national ban.
Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, told Mother Jones the practice amounts to nothing less than “torture” and “inflicts injuries, trauma and lasting harm.”
Defenders of the use of ESD’s believe it has a calming effect on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and helps prevent the anti-social behaviors described, for their own safety and that of those around them.
However, the FDA says there is no evidence to support this point of view and points instead to the likely side effects as identified by the AAP.
One of the few institutions that still practises electro shock treatment in a disciplinary capacity is the controversial Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts, which has done so since 1971 and won court victories as recently as 2021 and 2023 to enable it to continue.
The institution said in a statement after the first of those victories that its use of the treatment means its residents “can continue to participate in enriching experiences, enjoy visits with their families and, most importantly, live in safety and freedom from self-injurious and aggressive behaviours.”
The FDA attempted to ban shock therapy as a corrective for self-injurious or aggressive behaviors in 2020, only for it to be overruled by a federal appeals court, which concluded that the agency had overreached its jurisdiction.
The issue then reached the House of Representatives in 2022, where legislation was passed to stop it that duly stalled in the Senate.
The proposal now up for consideration by the FDA would only rule out the use of ESD’s for disciplinary measures and would not stop the voluntary use of shock therapy as a means of deterring smoking or as a treatment for severe psychiatric conditions like major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.
