Petition To End Shock Treatment At Judge Rotenberg Center

BOSTON (AP) — A Brooklyn, N.Y., woman who settled a lawsuit against a Massachusetts school for disabled children that administers shock treatment therapy to some students is stepping up efforts to end the practice.

Cheryl McCollins and Gregory Miller, a Berry Creek, Calif., resident and former teacher at the Judge Rotenberg Center, on Wednesday delivered a petition signed by more than 223,000 people demanding that state lawmakers ban the practice. The petition was delivered to four lawmakers, including Democratic House Speaker Robert DeLeo.

McCollins sued the Canton school, alleging malpractice. A settlement was announced April 24. Terms were not disclosed.

The trial featured dramatic video of the aversive therapy administered in 2002 to McCollins' son, Andre, in which the autistic boy screams and begs for relief while he is shocked 31 times over several hours.

The school says the treatment works.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.