'Only a last resort': Inclusion Alberta calls on parents to help close seclusion rooms

A family advocacy group is calling on all Alberta parents to have a conversation with their children's schools about the practice of seclusion rooms, something it says can cause serious emotional and psychological damage.

A family advocacy group is calling on all Alberta parents to have a conversation with their children's schools about the practice of seclusion rooms, something it says can cause serious emotional and psychological damage.

Inclusion Alberta, which works with children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families to help them build a life that is fully included in society, says seclusion has been used for a very long time in Alberta and across Canada.

While experts say seclusion rooms only exist in a small number of specialized schools that exclusively teach children with developmental disabilities, Inclusion Alberta suggests that there isn't a clear picture about how widely it is used.

However both of Calgary's major school boards have admitted they have seclusion rooms in their institutions and insist they comply with all of the province's rules regarding them.

"Seclusion is a practice – it is being involuntarily confined in a space from which you are prevented from leaving," said Trish Bowman, Inclusion Alberta's CEO, in an interview with CTV News.

She says there are standards in place for how they're used, but adds they're used typically only as a last resort.

"(Times) where the child is actually at risk of harming themselves or potentially others," she said.