单选题
The children return from school confused, scared and sometimes with bruises (淤伤，青肿) on their wrists, arms or face. Many won"t talk about what happened, or simply can"t, because they are unable to communicate easily, if at all.
Dr. Miller, a podiatrist (足部医生) in Allegany, N.Y. learned that Tim, who has Asperger"s syndrome, was being unusually confrontational in class, and that more than once teachers had held him down on the floor to "calm him down," according to logs teachers kept to track his behavior; on at least one occasion, adults held Tim prone for 20 minutes until he stopped struggling.
The Millers are suing the district, in part for costs of therapy for their son as a result of the restraints. The district did not dispute the logs but denied that teachers behaved improperly.
For more than a decade, parents of children with developmental and psychiatric problems have pushed to gain more access to mainstream schools and classrooms for their sons and daughters. One unfortunate result, some experts say, is schools" increasing use of precisely the sort of practices families hoped to avoid by steering clear of institutionalized settings- takedowns, isolation rooms, restraining chairs with straps, and worse.
No one keeps careful track of how often school staff members use such methods. But last year the public system served 600,000 more special education students than it did a decade ago, many at least part time in regular classrooms. Many staff members are not adequately trained to handle severe behavior problems, researchers say.
In April, a 9-year-old Montreal boy with autism (自闭症) died of suffocation when a special education teacher wrapped him in a weighted blanket to calm him, according to the coroner"s report. Two Michigan public school students with autism have died while being held on the ground in so-called prone restraint.
"Behavior problems in school are way up, and there"s good reason to believe that the use of these procedures is up, too," said Reece L. Peterson, a professor of special education at the University of Nebraska. "It"s an awful combination, because many parents expect restraints to be used—as long as it"s not their kid."
Federal law leaves it to states and school districts to decide when physical restraints and seclusion are appropriate, and standards vary widely. Oversight is virtually nonexistent in most states, despite the potential for harm and scant evidence of benefit, Dr. Peterson said. Psychiatric facilities and nursing homes are generally far more accountable to report on such incidents than schools, experts say.
单选题
The author cites the example of Tim to imply that ______.