She says her program only uses drugs with sixof its 32 patients.

But Israel says all other programs useaversives--they just call them by different names.According to Israel, frequently-used aversivesinclude "take-downs," where staffers wrestleviolent patients to the floor, and "prompts,"where staffers cause patients to do something bygrabbing them forcefully.

But several experts raise questions about theefficacy and safety of the aversive therapy usedat BRI.

Driscoll criticizes Israel's development of aneven stronger electronic shock device called theGraduated Electronic Decelerator 4. While aboutfour BRI patients have been removed from thedecelerator, BRI says an equal number require thestronger device.

"Ten years ago, a spatula spank was gettingthings under control, and now they're using theGED 4," Driscoll says, "You wonder what comesnext."

Even Israel acknowledges that about ten percentof the patients at BRI have become habituated topain and require stronger aversives.

And questions remain as to whether severaldeaths at BRI were caused by the use of aversives.

In the summer of 1985, Vincent Milletichdied at BRI of a seizure while wearing a helmetthe institute had modified for aversive therapyuse.

Milletich's death coincided with the office forChildren's annual recertification of programs.Concerned that the death revealed problems withBRI, the children's office suspended BRI'slicense.

In probate court, BRI sued for the right toreinstitute its aversive treatments on anindividual basis. BRI also sued the children'soffice for acting maliciously in revoking theirlicense.

The case never went to trial. But, in asettlement, Judge Ernest Rotenburg found that thechildren's office had acted in bad faith. Thejudge also granted BRI a huge award of legal fees.

BRI was ultimately cleared of anyresponsibility in Milletich's death.

In a settlement between the children's office,the state attorney general and the institute, BRIwas placed first under the supervision of theDepartment of Mental Health and later, in 1987,under the control of its sister organization, theDepartment of Mental Retardation (DMR).

BRI has been licensed and regulated by DMR eversince, in what Kim E. Murdock, the mentalretardation department's general counsel, calls an"acrimonious" relationship.

During DMR's routine recertification of BRI inAugust 1993, the department found evidence ofpossible violations.