Happy Mother’s Day from ICARS. Today we celebrate mothers, grandmothers, carers, kinship carers, and all those who bring love, care, steadiness, and warmth into children’s lives. Wishing you a day filled with rest, appreciation, and the kindness you so often give to others.

A sneak peak at “Let the Record Show.” Coming soon 🎉

Submitted a FOI on restraint, seclusion, or disability issues in England’s schools? ICARS wants to hear from you. We are gathering evidence for our UN submission. Response, delay, or refusal, it all matters. See image for details and how to submit. #AgainstRestraint

In The Name of Discipline #AgainstRestraint youtu.be/kxPwNyqgNaw

November 2022, paraprofessional James Mock was charged with simple battery against the Evans Elementary 10-year-old. The civil case was settled March 10 in Columbia County Superior Court for an undisclosed amount, Mock still faces the criminal charges. #AgainstRestraint www.wrdw.com/2026/03/24/l...

The complaint, suggested the practice went on for at least two weeks and potentially for months. The restraint, according to the filing, violated the law .The district also is accused of negligence, battery and false imprisonment. #AgainstRestraint www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/a...

Dudley, England. A 14-month-old child was restrained, placed face down, and covered to make him sleep. He died. A nursery has admitted corporate manslaughter. This is what physical restraint does to children. #AgainstRestraint www.bbc.com/news/article...

'He deserved it': UP teacher aide accused of abusing special needs student now charged with 3rd degree child abuse. www.myupnow.com/news/local/h...

The Boise School District is facing another tort claim from a victim of Gavin Snow. This now marks at least the ninth victim to come forward and file suit against the district, seven of whom have already settled out of court. idahonews.com/news/local/b...

Former Littleton Public Schools bus aide who was captured on video assaulting non-speaking, autistic children on their way to and from school in Englewood, was sentenced Wednesday to 4½ years in prison. coloradosun.com/2026/03/18/f...

Advocacy on fire 🔥 H723 passed in Idaho! Caroline Cole of 11:11 Media Impact been a dear friend for many years, and we are deeply grateful for her work as Special Advisor to ICARS. It means more than words can capture. Survivors and advocates are driving real change. #BeTheChange #AgainstRestraint

The Virginia Beach School Board bans the use of seclusion rooms The decision comes after a Virginia Beach mother filed a $150 million lawsuit against Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs (SECEP). #AgainstRestraint www.13newsnow.com/article/news...

LANCASTER, Texas — Three Lancaster Independent School District employees arrested in connection with an incident involving the inappropriate restraint of a student at Pleasant Run Elementary School have now been identified, according to district police. #AgainstRestraint www.wfaa.com/article/news...

The Special School District of St. Louis County in Missouri has violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act through systemic widespread use of restraint and seclusion practices, the U.S. Department of Justice charged in findings Monday. #AgainstRestraint www.k12dive.com/news/shockin...

The new guidelines were criticised last year by Caoilfhionn Gallagher @caoilfhionn.bsky.social, the special rapporteur on child protection, who noted schools were obliged to provide only generic information regarding incidents. #AgainstRestraint www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...

SEPAC representative told the committee that there are concerns the blue rooms have been used as seclusion for behavioral modification purposes, and not just for emergency situations where students pose an imminent danger to themselves, for several hours at a time. gazettenet.com/2026/03/17/a...

All eyes on Idaho today as lawmakers prepare to vote on H723. Many survivors, families and children are waiting and hoping for meaningful protections for children. 🤞

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

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

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...

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...

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.

🧵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.

ICARS works in the public interest to defend the vulnerable. Support them, and great journalists like Keith Cooper and Will Stewart. @againstrestraint.com

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.

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/...

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

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

“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

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...

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

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

“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...

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.

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 ..

Advocacy is the bridge between injustice and action. It transforms silence into voice and resistance into change. #AgainstRestraint

Here is the page with ideas for alternatives to ABA from @stimpunks.org stimpunks.org/why/alternat...

Very proud to be working with @stimpunks.org and helping this resource evolve. Important work for our community. Thank you for resharing @thinkingautism.com

Advocacy needs leaders. Those who lead create change. Those who follow only echo it. Be the one who lights the path, not the one walking in someone else’s shadow. Choose to lead. 🧡

🧵 We’re honored to share that ICARS will be presenting at this year’s Children’s Mental Health Advocacy Conference, hosted by Dr. Ross Greene and Lives in the Balance, on October 21, 2025. 📅 Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025 📍 Online 🔗 Register here: events.zoom.us/ev/Ahjf2KSya...

We warned them. They ignored it. Children continue to suffer. In April 2025, ICARS sent a 6-page evidence submission to the Equality and Human Rights Commission calling for an investigation into the Witherslack Group. A thread 🧵

Vulnerable children have been left with “terrible” injuries and trauma because of their treatment by staff at a taxpayer-funded private special school, The i Paper has been told 🔴 @KeithCooper1973 reports trib.al/wEssfQZ

“It was uncomfortable and painful. I was scared.” Former pupil describes long, repeated restraints and watching classmates scream in pain at Bramley Hill School run by the Witherslack Group. @theipaper.com @kijcooper1973.bsky.social #AgainstRestraint

The children have spoken. England's children are telling the world what happened to them. It’s time England's lawmakers started listening and acting. #AgainstRestraint