http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/archives/2002/jul/25/momsuing25.htm
July 25, 2002
Mom suing Cape school receives honor
Jean Bowden fought to stop teachers from using restraints as a discipline for her autistic daughter.
By CYNTHIA MCCORMICK
STAFF WRITER
A Marstons Mills resident has received national recognition for advocating against using physical force to restrain and discipline children with disabilities.
Jean Bowden was one of five people who received an award from the National Protection and Advocacy Association recently for advancing the rights of people with disabilities.
NAPAS is a professional association of people who advocate for the rights of people with disabilities.
Bowden came to their attention with her campaign to stop schools from being able to use floor restraints and other holding techniques to discipline children with disabilities.
Her daughter, Abigail, who has autism, was held down with her arms behind her back 10 times in one day while enrolled in a program for severely developmentally delayed students at Centerville Elementary School.
Teachers said Abigail was unruly and aggressive, but Bowden called it abuse.
She and another mother, Melanie Lyon, are suing the Barnstable school system. Using a videotape of her daughter being held on the floor, Bowden also lobbied to change restraint policies in the state. She was present when the Board of Education adopted new regulations limiting the use of restraints last year.
“Jean has been a tireless advocate on behalf of students with disabilities,” said Tim Sindelar, a senior attorney at the Disability Law Center in Boston.
“She has worked day and night to make sure that these students will not
be subject to unnecessary or dangerous restraints in their school programs,” Sindelar said. “Now many of the practices that Abbie experienced are outlawed. As a study by the Hartford Courant newspaper demonstrated, improper restraint can be extremely deadly, particularly for children.”
Bowden has told her story to Court TV’s “Pros and Cons” and “Hard Copy.” She testified before the state Board of Education when it formulated the new regulations.
That law prohibits restraints for disciplinary reasons but allows them when a student “poses a serious threat of injury to themselves and others.” In those circumstances, school officials are allowed to use padded ties, restrictive blankets and tapes as well as medication and other restraints.
“I did it because I don’t like what they did to Abbie,” Bowden said. “I don’t want them to do it to other children. Plus it can kill somebody.”
NAPAS announced Bowden’s award at its 25th annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Bowden was unable to attend and picked up the award at Sindelar’s office.
The association also gave Abigail, who now attends the Higashi School
in Boston, a giant stuffed panda bear.