Successful Alternatives to Shock Treatment for Behavior Issues

We are grateful to Matt Riley Psy.D., BCBA, Senior Vice President of Educational Services at May Institute, for his participation in a series on WCVB-TV Channel 5 in Boston which covered alternatives to shock treatment. Dr. Riley discussed how May Institute treats self-injurious behavior or behaviors that could threaten the safety of others, without the use of aversive therapies such as shocks. “We know that our science has evolved over many, many years, and we know better ways to accomplish our goals," he told reporter Mike Beaudet. The FDA is again trying to ban the use of shock treatment.

The segment also includes the story of Presley, a student who attends a May Center School for Autism and Developmental Disabilities in Massachusetts.

You can view the segment here: 'Better, more humane ways:' How others stop self-injurious behavior without painful shocks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDi5CdQeoS4

For those who are interested, you can view the other segments here:
Segments 1 & 2: Mass. school prevails despite decades of opposition to its use of shocks for therapy: https://bit.ly/3QVdGNc

Segment 3: Once troubled youths, 2 New Yorkers describe time inside JRC: https://bit.ly/3URvcDf

Segment 4: Mass. school fights off challenges to controversial treatment with the help of taxpayer money: https://bit.ly/4bwfwfO