Physical Restraint
Children and adolescents may need to be physically restrained because of disruptive behavior or to prevent injury to themselves or others. The use of restraint for a child or adolescent requires clear indications, safe application, reassessment guidelines, and use only after the consideration of alternative methods.
BRIEF SUMMARY
Children and adolescents may need to be physically restrained because of disruptive behavior or to prevent injury to themselves or others. The use of restraint for a child or adolescent requires clear indications, safe application, reassessment guidelines, and use only after the consideration of alternative methods.
KEY POINTS
- The use of physical restraint is a last resort. It is far better to prevent dangerous situations developing or using de-escalation techniques to calm things down, but that’s not always possible.
- The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights requires that school districts report every time a student is restrained or secluded.
RESOURCES
SHARED WISDOM
- Often by the time you are called to implement these methods you have entered a full-blown crisis of emotional dysregulation. I would recommend seeking out these researched-based alternatives through the following sources: Ross Greene, Ph.D., Heather T. Forbes, LCSW, J. Stuart Albon. Each has books available or can be checked out on YouTube for sampling or just google the names to learn more. (Counselor Talk, March 2020)
CONTENT FEEDBACK
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