VIDEO: The Jonathan Carey Story: The Killing of an Innocent Boy with Autism

Please view this moving tribute to the life and tragic death of Jonathan Carrey, who died at the age of 13 on February 15, 2007 after O.D. Heck Elementary staff physically restrained him in a van.

In 2004, Jonathan was abused in a private school for children with autism in Statsburg, New York. Staff secluded him in his bedroom for extensive periods of time, causing him to miss 8 days of school in one month – the room had been stripped of everything the child held dear: his toys, his books, even his pictures; the windows were covered so he could see nothing of the outside world, just the walls of his room.

He was repeatedly physically restrained by staff and suffered extensive bruising; bruising which went unreported by school staff, as required by law. Because he was mostly non-verbal, he could not tell his parents what happened…

Jonathan’s meals were also withheld for “behavior modification” for several weeks. When his parents questioned their son’s visible weight loss, the school told them their visitation was suspended for 4 weeks to allow for “intensive programming.” Jonathan’s parents immediately removed him from the school and reported allegations of abuse to the appropriate authorities.

Following the investigation, all records were immediately sealed and withheld from Jonathan’s parents.

His parents next placed Jonathan in a facility closer to his family’s home – but Jonathan was abused again and again, until finally, he died.

On May 5, 2007, Jonathan’s Law was passed in New York state to give parents and guardians access to their child’s records; no longer can records of abuse be sealed. His parents have also been instrumental in getting 6 more laws passed, including banning the withholding of food/meals for the disabled and changing the Standards of Abuse (Social Services Law 412), which was responsible for covering up incidences of abuse.

To learn more, please see http://jonathancareyfoundation.org., http://caica.org, and http://floridafamiliesagainstrestraint.blogspot.