ICARS - International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion
@againstrestraint.com
Family, survivor and neurodivergent led advocacy to end restraint, seclusion and institutional abuses of children. #AgainstRestraint #SICAA SICAA Coalition.
🔗 againstrestraint.com
🔗 againstrestraint.com
While children across England unwrap presents this Christmas, disabled children are unpacking something else: fear.
The fear of going back to school.
Because for too many disabled children, school isn’t a place of safety or inclusion. #AgainstRestraint
The fear of going back to school.
Because for too many disabled children, school isn’t a place of safety or inclusion. #AgainstRestraint
December 24, 2025 at 2:44 PM
While children across England unwrap presents this Christmas, disabled children are unpacking something else: fear.
The fear of going back to school.
Because for too many disabled children, school isn’t a place of safety or inclusion. #AgainstRestraint
The fear of going back to school.
Because for too many disabled children, school isn’t a place of safety or inclusion. #AgainstRestraint
Wishing you a peaceful holiday season and the very best for the year ahead.
This year has asked a lot of many people. Rest matters. Time with loved ones matters.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of our community. #AgainstRestraint
This year has asked a lot of many people. Rest matters. Time with loved ones matters.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of our community. #AgainstRestraint
December 19, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Wishing you a peaceful holiday season and the very best for the year ahead.
This year has asked a lot of many people. Rest matters. Time with loved ones matters.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of our community. #AgainstRestraint
This year has asked a lot of many people. Rest matters. Time with loved ones matters.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of our community. #AgainstRestraint
The group found 40% miss more than 18 or more days or school per year, 60% of their parents report their schools do not “facilitate meaningful involvement” and the vast majority of seclusion and restraint incidents involve students with disabilities. themanchestermirror.com/2025/12/08/m...
Michigan fails its students with disabilities, first-ever report finds
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan (bridgemi.com), a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from Bridge Michigan, sign up for a free…
themanchestermirror.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:54 AM
The group found 40% miss more than 18 or more days or school per year, 60% of their parents report their schools do not “facilitate meaningful involvement” and the vast majority of seclusion and restraint incidents involve students with disabilities. themanchestermirror.com/2025/12/08/m...
Ofsted - "Frequent incidents of restraint are not reviewed in line with the school’s behaviour policy; this means that the school does not learn from its use of restraint, which places staff and pupils at risk of injury. #AgainstRestraint
www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-o...
www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-o...
'Frequent incidents of restraint' at inadequate North Staffordshire school
A new headteacher is now in place
www.stokesentinel.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Ofsted - "Frequent incidents of restraint are not reviewed in line with the school’s behaviour policy; this means that the school does not learn from its use of restraint, which places staff and pupils at risk of injury. #AgainstRestraint
www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-o...
www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-o...
A teacher has been banned from the classroom after restraining a child while singing a nursery rhyme.
Benjamin Guilfoyle, 39, was employed at The Loyne Specialist School in Lancaster when the incident took place in July 2022. #AgainstRestraint www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Benjamin Guilfoyle, 39, was employed at The Loyne Specialist School in Lancaster when the incident took place in July 2022. #AgainstRestraint www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Teacher banned from the classroom after restraining child while singing nursery rhyme
Benjamin Guilfoyle was employed at The Loyne Specialist School in Lancaster when the incident took place
www.independent.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 9:13 PM
A teacher has been banned from the classroom after restraining a child while singing a nursery rhyme.
Benjamin Guilfoyle, 39, was employed at The Loyne Specialist School in Lancaster when the incident took place in July 2022. #AgainstRestraint www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Benjamin Guilfoyle, 39, was employed at The Loyne Specialist School in Lancaster when the incident took place in July 2022. #AgainstRestraint www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Joanne Juhnke, an advocacy specialist with Disability Rights Wisconsin, said seclusion and restraint has historically disproportionately affected students with disabilities. #AgainstRestraint milwaukeenns.org/2025/12/09/m...
MPS plans audit to look at how it serves students with disabilities
Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius is gearing up for a districtwide special education audit.
milwaukeenns.org
December 10, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Joanne Juhnke, an advocacy specialist with Disability Rights Wisconsin, said seclusion and restraint has historically disproportionately affected students with disabilities. #AgainstRestraint milwaukeenns.org/2025/12/09/m...
Today is a reminder that human rights are not abstract principles. Yet children continue to face institutional abuse including the use of restraint, seclusion, isolation rooms, and compliance systems that violate their dignity and their rights.
December 10, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Today is a reminder that human rights are not abstract principles. Yet children continue to face institutional abuse including the use of restraint, seclusion, isolation rooms, and compliance systems that violate their dignity and their rights.
🧵Did anyone have “Sir Alan Wood CBE becomes the truth-speaking hero for vulnerable pupils” on their card for 2025 ?
His report into Mossbourne told the truth and finally gives voice to children and families across England who have faced the same harms and been dismissed and ignored.
His report into Mossbourne told the truth and finally gives voice to children and families across England who have faced the same harms and been dismissed and ignored.
December 10, 2025 at 1:03 PM
🧵Did anyone have “Sir Alan Wood CBE becomes the truth-speaking hero for vulnerable pupils” on their card for 2025 ?
His report into Mossbourne told the truth and finally gives voice to children and families across England who have faced the same harms and been dismissed and ignored.
His report into Mossbourne told the truth and finally gives voice to children and families across England who have faced the same harms and been dismissed and ignored.
Reposted by ICARS - International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion
ICARS works in the public interest to defend the vulnerable. Support them, and great journalists like Keith Cooper and Will Stewart. @againstrestraint.com
📢ICARS Person(s) of the Year 2025 Keith Cooper and Will Stewart 🏆
ICARS is proud to recognise Keith Cooper and Will Stewart
as our Person(s) of the Year for 2025. Their national reporting has reshaped public understanding of the harms faced by disabled children in England’s education system.
ICARS is proud to recognise Keith Cooper and Will Stewart
as our Person(s) of the Year for 2025. Their national reporting has reshaped public understanding of the harms faced by disabled children in England’s education system.
December 7, 2025 at 11:16 AM
ICARS works in the public interest to defend the vulnerable. Support them, and great journalists like Keith Cooper and Will Stewart. @againstrestraint.com
Reposted by ICARS - International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion
Great journalism, as practiced by Keith Cooper and Will Stewart today, and the investigative team at the Hartford Courant 25 years ago, serves the public interest, defends the most vulnerable and makes a difference.
December 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Great journalism, as practiced by Keith Cooper and Will Stewart today, and the investigative team at the Hartford Courant 25 years ago, serves the public interest, defends the most vulnerable and makes a difference.
📢ICARS Person(s) of the Year 2025 Keith Cooper and Will Stewart 🏆
ICARS is proud to recognise Keith Cooper and Will Stewart
as our Person(s) of the Year for 2025. Their national reporting has reshaped public understanding of the harms faced by disabled children in England’s education system.
ICARS is proud to recognise Keith Cooper and Will Stewart
as our Person(s) of the Year for 2025. Their national reporting has reshaped public understanding of the harms faced by disabled children in England’s education system.
December 6, 2025 at 6:59 PM
📢ICARS Person(s) of the Year 2025 Keith Cooper and Will Stewart 🏆
ICARS is proud to recognise Keith Cooper and Will Stewart
as our Person(s) of the Year for 2025. Their national reporting has reshaped public understanding of the harms faced by disabled children in England’s education system.
ICARS is proud to recognise Keith Cooper and Will Stewart
as our Person(s) of the Year for 2025. Their national reporting has reshaped public understanding of the harms faced by disabled children in England’s education system.
Reposted by ICARS - International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion
ABA Harms.
More evidence:
"ABA therapy was associated with a greater use of acute mental health services; autistic youth in the ABA group had an overall risk that was 30% higher for mental health hospitalizations"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
More evidence:
"ABA therapy was associated with a greater use of acute mental health services; autistic youth in the ABA group had an overall risk that was 30% higher for mental health hospitalizations"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:06 AM
ABA Harms.
More evidence:
"ABA therapy was associated with a greater use of acute mental health services; autistic youth in the ABA group had an overall risk that was 30% higher for mental health hospitalizations"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
More evidence:
"ABA therapy was associated with a greater use of acute mental health services; autistic youth in the ABA group had an overall risk that was 30% higher for mental health hospitalizations"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
If no one objects, an English child will die from restraint in a school. Another will live with lifelong trauma from isolation and seclusion.
Silence protects systems, not children.
Speaking out is not chaos, it’s conscience.
#AgainstRestraint #PandemicOfPunishment #ShineOnMax
Silence protects systems, not children.
Speaking out is not chaos, it’s conscience.
#AgainstRestraint #PandemicOfPunishment #ShineOnMax
October 26, 2025 at 12:50 PM
If no one objects, an English child will die from restraint in a school. Another will live with lifelong trauma from isolation and seclusion.
Silence protects systems, not children.
Speaking out is not chaos, it’s conscience.
#AgainstRestraint #PandemicOfPunishment #ShineOnMax
Silence protects systems, not children.
Speaking out is not chaos, it’s conscience.
#AgainstRestraint #PandemicOfPunishment #ShineOnMax
Every system has its Epsteins, those who harm children, and its enablers who say “no harm done.” #AgainstRestraint
October 26, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Every system has its Epsteins, those who harm children, and its enablers who say “no harm done.” #AgainstRestraint
🧵Thank you to everyone who’s reached out about todays Children Mental Health Advocacy Conference presentation. The ladies have received many kind personal messages, and we’ve also seen a flood of supportive messages sent to us here on social media. We’ll make sure every one of them is passed along
October 21, 2025 at 5:52 PM
🧵Thank you to everyone who’s reached out about todays Children Mental Health Advocacy Conference presentation. The ladies have received many kind personal messages, and we’ve also seen a flood of supportive messages sent to us here on social media. We’ll make sure every one of them is passed along
Reposted by ICARS - International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion
“The assumption that simply integrating autistic students into mainstream settings guarantees inclusion is not only misleading, but harmful. As many advocates warn, true inclusion demands a fundamental shift in attitudes, environments and policies.”
theconversation.com/many-autisti... #inclusion
theconversation.com/many-autisti... #inclusion
Many autistic students are denied a full education — here’s what we need for inclusive schools
Integrating autistic students fully and meaningfully in classrooms is important for their education, for broader classrooms as well as for families’ employment security and well-being.
theconversation.com
October 17, 2025 at 2:17 PM
“The assumption that simply integrating autistic students into mainstream settings guarantees inclusion is not only misleading, but harmful. As many advocates warn, true inclusion demands a fundamental shift in attitudes, environments and policies.”
theconversation.com/many-autisti... #inclusion
theconversation.com/many-autisti... #inclusion
A former doorman from Blyth teaching parents? You couldn’t make it up. What families need is real training on preventing or stopping escalation in the first place, not this circus! Only in England .. sigh www.bbc.com/news/article...
Northumberland parents learn self defence against their children
Some parents say help is not available quickly enough to deal with violence from their children.
www.bbc.com
October 14, 2025 at 5:45 PM
A former doorman from Blyth teaching parents? You couldn’t make it up. What families need is real training on preventing or stopping escalation in the first place, not this circus! Only in England .. sigh www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by ICARS - International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion
Being “interest-led” isn’t enough.
Monotropism means honouring deep attention, autonomy & sensory safety, not weaponising interests for compliance.
https://autisticrealms.com/why-interest-led-isnt-enough-embracing-monotropism-neuro-affirming-practice/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
Monotropism means honouring deep attention, autonomy & sensory safety, not weaponising interests for compliance.
https://autisticrealms.com/why-interest-led-isnt-enough-embracing-monotropism-neuro-affirming-practice/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
October 12, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Being “interest-led” isn’t enough.
Monotropism means honouring deep attention, autonomy & sensory safety, not weaponising interests for compliance.
https://autisticrealms.com/why-interest-led-isnt-enough-embracing-monotropism-neuro-affirming-practice/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
Monotropism means honouring deep attention, autonomy & sensory safety, not weaponising interests for compliance.
https://autisticrealms.com/why-interest-led-isnt-enough-embracing-monotropism-neuro-affirming-practice/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social
Just over a week to go!
We’re looking forward to presenting “Held Down, Held Back: Restraint and Seclusion in England’s Schools” for Lives in the Balance with Dr. Ross Greene on October 21, 2025.
It’s free to attend, can sign up here: tinyurl.com/2sadbes7 @livesinthebalance.bsky.social #CMHAC25
We’re looking forward to presenting “Held Down, Held Back: Restraint and Seclusion in England’s Schools” for Lives in the Balance with Dr. Ross Greene on October 21, 2025.
It’s free to attend, can sign up here: tinyurl.com/2sadbes7 @livesinthebalance.bsky.social #CMHAC25
October 12, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Just over a week to go!
We’re looking forward to presenting “Held Down, Held Back: Restraint and Seclusion in England’s Schools” for Lives in the Balance with Dr. Ross Greene on October 21, 2025.
It’s free to attend, can sign up here: tinyurl.com/2sadbes7 @livesinthebalance.bsky.social #CMHAC25
We’re looking forward to presenting “Held Down, Held Back: Restraint and Seclusion in England’s Schools” for Lives in the Balance with Dr. Ross Greene on October 21, 2025.
It’s free to attend, can sign up here: tinyurl.com/2sadbes7 @livesinthebalance.bsky.social #CMHAC25
“This administration seems to care a lot about autism as a supposed epidemic,” said Colin Killick, the executive director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. “It does not seem to care much at all about autistic people.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/u...
‘Autism Doesn’t Need a Cure’: Trump’s Message Rankles People Living With the Disability
www.nytimes.com
September 25, 2025 at 6:57 PM
“This administration seems to care a lot about autism as a supposed epidemic,” said Colin Killick, the executive director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. “It does not seem to care much at all about autistic people.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/u...
🚨 Leading autism and disability organizations, led by ASAN, have issued a united call for decision-making grounded in quality science and compassion.
We are proud to be signatories to this statement. 🧵
autisticadvocacy.org/2025/09/lead...
We are proud to be signatories to this statement. 🧵
autisticadvocacy.org/2025/09/lead...
Leading Autism and Disability Organizations Call for Decision-Making based on Quality Science and Compassion for the Autism Community - Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Click here to read a plain language explainer of this statement. For Immediate Release: Wednesday, September 24, 2025 Organizational Contacts: AAPD: Jess Davidson, jdavidson@aapd.com; 202-465-5528 AU...
autisticadvocacy.org
September 25, 2025 at 12:27 PM
🚨 Leading autism and disability organizations, led by ASAN, have issued a united call for decision-making grounded in quality science and compassion.
We are proud to be signatories to this statement. 🧵
autisticadvocacy.org/2025/09/lead...
We are proud to be signatories to this statement. 🧵
autisticadvocacy.org/2025/09/lead...
In USA Today, Colin Killick, Executive Director of ASAN, calls out Trump and RFK Jr. for treating autism like a “plague to be eradicated.”
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
There is no autism epidemic — autistic people need services, respect, and inclusion, not harmful “cures” or budget cuts.
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
There is no autism epidemic — autistic people need services, respect, and inclusion, not harmful “cures” or budget cuts.
I'm autistic. Trump and RFK Jr. must stop treating us like a plague to be eradicated.
Evidence for Trump's Tylenol claim is weak. Yet no prior administration has cared less about what either autism experts or autistic people have to say
usatoday.com
September 25, 2025 at 1:37 AM
In USA Today, Colin Killick, Executive Director of ASAN, calls out Trump and RFK Jr. for treating autism like a “plague to be eradicated.”
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
There is no autism epidemic — autistic people need services, respect, and inclusion, not harmful “cures” or budget cuts.
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
There is no autism epidemic — autistic people need services, respect, and inclusion, not harmful “cures” or budget cuts.
Has your child faced removal, isolation, or seclusion in an English school? Share your story in our anonymous survey. Link in comments. #AgainstRestraint
September 16, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Has your child faced removal, isolation, or seclusion in an English school? Share your story in our anonymous survey. Link in comments. #AgainstRestraint
To all the advocates, our friends and coalition partners: most of the real work does not happen on social media or in the spotlight.
Over the Labor Day weekend, while many paused to rest, you kept going.
With state legislative sessions about to open, the work continues, in the strategy calls ..
Over the Labor Day weekend, while many paused to rest, you kept going.
With state legislative sessions about to open, the work continues, in the strategy calls ..
August 30, 2025 at 4:37 PM
To all the advocates, our friends and coalition partners: most of the real work does not happen on social media or in the spotlight.
Over the Labor Day weekend, while many paused to rest, you kept going.
With state legislative sessions about to open, the work continues, in the strategy calls ..
Over the Labor Day weekend, while many paused to rest, you kept going.
With state legislative sessions about to open, the work continues, in the strategy calls ..
Advocacy is the bridge between injustice and action. It transforms silence into voice and resistance into change. #AgainstRestraint
August 30, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Advocacy is the bridge between injustice and action. It transforms silence into voice and resistance into change. #AgainstRestraint