MASSACHUSETTS — The Food and Drug Administration missed its May 2026 deadline to issue a decision on whether to ban electrical shock devices used to manage self-injurious behavior in people with intellectual disabilities and autism. The agency had set the deadline for the end of May 2026 as part of its renewed regulatory process.
The Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts is the only institution in the United States that still uses these devices. According to a spokesperson for the center, it currently houses 347 residents, with 54 receiving some form of shock treatment. Glenda Crookes, executive director of the Judge Rotenberg Center, said the center must obtain approval from a resident’s family and a judge before using the device. She acknowledged that a “two-second shock” is “painful,” but described the outcomes as “amazing” and “miraculous.” Crookes said, “Someone had been here for seven years. He was restrained all the time. Imagine as a mom not being able to hug your child for seven years because they were too dangerous. And she came in and she said, ‘We want to try the treatment. We’ll give you 30 days.’ Within 30 days, he was medication free. He was restraint free. He was attending his sister’s bat mitzvah.”
Critics of the devices include international bodies and medical organizations. The United Nations has described their use on people with disabilities as a form of “torture,” while the American Academy of Pediatrics has called the practice “punishing.” A 2012 court video showed a Judge Rotenberg Center resident being shocked for seven hours. Robyn Linscott, director of education and family policy at The Arc, said, “It felt dystopian, that this could actually be happening in a place that said that their mission was to help folks with disabilities.” She added, “We’ve come so close, so many times.” She also said that if the FDA does not ban the devices, “it would almost feel like salt in the wound.”
Aleyda Martinez, a former resident, said she was routinely shocked for speaking out against mistreatment, including for speaking Spanish. She said, “They say that people’s behavior changes, but it’s because if they’re on [a graduated electronic decelerator], they get shocked and it’s like they’re living in fear, walking on eggshells, like they didn’t really change.” Martinez also stated, “I still get PTSD with certain sounds, like if I get my nails done or get a tattoo, it’s like certain sounds of that [device].”
The FDA first began the process to ban the devices in 2013 and issued a ban in 2020, but a federal appeals court overruled it, citing lack of agency authority. Congress granted the FDA explicit authority to ban the devices in its 2022 omnibus bill. The agency posted an initial rule in 2024, and the vast majority of public comments submitted in response favored reinstating the ban.