15 Facts About Facilitated communication

Facilitated communication, or supported typing, is a scientifically discredited technique that attempts to aid communication by people with autism or other communication disabilities who are non-verbal.

Facilitated communication has been called "the single most scientifically discredited intervention in all of developmental disabilities".

However, there is a scientific consensus that facilitated communication is not a valid communication technique, and its use is strongly discouraged by most speech and language disability professional organizations.

Facilitated communication is promoted as a means to assist people with severe communication disabilities in pointing to letters on an alphabet board, keyboard or other device so that they can communicate independently.

Facilitated communication is closely related to the rapid prompting method, in which the facilitator holds the letter board instead of touching the patient.

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Some observers have reported that while the facilitators were watching the letter board, their Facilitated communication partners were often distracted, staring off into space, rolling around on the floor, falling asleep, or otherwise not paying attention.

In other cases, the Facilitated communication partners spoke words that conflicted with the words being typed.

Belief in facilitated communication is promoted by its status as a claimed "miracle cure" presented when parents are undergoing stress and grief from learning that their child has a disability.

The study demonstrated that the Facilitated communication partners were "systematically and unknowingly" being influenced by their facilitators.

The studies consistently showed "without a doubt" that the messages obtained through facilitated communication were controlled by the facilitators and not their communication partners.

The overwhelming majority of studies conducted on the efficacy of this technique has revealed that any "positive" results indicating that facilitated communication has worked can be attributed to the facilitators themselves.

Facilitated communication stopped using FC, convinced her school administration to implement a system-wide prohibition on its use, and apologized to the falsely accused parents of the girl she had worked with.

Facilitated communication maintains a clearinghouse of professional articles and media coverage about FC, and helped in convincing the University of Northern Iowa to stop sponsoring an annual workshop that included instruction in FC.

Facilitated communication provides motor planning support for communication and literacy for adults and children.

Facilitated communication subsequently brought him to conferences where she "held him out as a success story".