Every year, children are restrained and secluded in schools across America. Many of them are neurodivergent. Many of them are already carrying trauma. And most people have no idea it's happening.

Guy Stephens did. And he couldn't look away.

What started as a father advocating for his own neurodivergent son became one of the most powerful advocacy movements in education today. In 2019, Guy founded the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint — a national nonprofit now 30,000 members strong — dedicated to ending punitive and exclusionary discipline and the school-to-prison pipeline.

He has testified before state legislatures across the country. He spoke to the House Committee on Education and Labor of Congress. He helped develop the Reframing Behavior training program with the Crisis Prevention Institute. And he hosts the AASR Live podcast.

In this episode, Joe and Guy explore:

• What restraint and seclusion actually are — and how widespread they remain in American schools
• What the research tells us about what these practices do to children
• What trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming alternatives actually look like
• How one father's love for his son became a national movement

This is a conversation about children, about systems, and about what it means to refuse to accept that this is just how things are.

Alliance Against Seclusion & Restraint

Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference