Facilitated Communication Nonsense still doing Harm

[Gord_in_Toronto]

'Facilitated communication' and a P.E.I. family's nightmare

This nonsense continues in the 21st Century.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/facilitated-communication-and-a-p-e-i-family-s-nightmare-1.2968186

CHARLOTTETOWN -- When the P.E.I. businessman arrived at the group home in Charlottetown to pick up his daughter, two solemn RCMP officers were waiting for him. He immediately assumed his daughter was dead.

"In those few seconds, I visualized a pile of bloody rags on the road, which was her body run over by a truck," he said in a recent interview, his voice shaking.

The officers assured him the young woman was fine. But his sense of relief fell away when the Mounties handcuffed him, saying she had accused him of sexually assaulting her.

"I said, 'Obviously, there's a mistake here, there's a communication problem,"' he said in a recent interview. "I knew it was false."

It was Feb. 7, 2015. For the next six months, he and his wife were effectively prohibited from seeing their daughter as they were drawn into a bizarre legal nightmare that pitted them against police, the P.E.I. Health Department and the group home.

. . .

Independent testing -- later arranged by her family -- found the 35-year-old was incapable of making the allegations attributed to her.

The clinical psychologist who did the testing said it demonstrated that questions put to the woman were actually being answered by group home workers using a disputed method known as facilitated communication.

The father was never charged.

. . .

A judge later concluded the P.E.I. Health Department and the group home acted in a "deplorable" manner by ignoring the couple's attempts to have their daughter's communication skills assessed.

The P.E.I. Supreme Court, in a decision released in March, found then-health minister Doug Currie failed in his legislated duty to conduct an investigation.

. . .

Lots of good, sensible, indepth reporting. Worth a complete read.

. . .

Earlier this year, the P.E.I. Supreme Court awarded the parents more than $61,000 in legal costs, saying that even cursory review of the studies on FC "would have alerted the minister of health to the very real possibility the communications of (the woman) were not her communications."

The court did not take a position on the validity of FC, but the decision clearly states that the technique did not work in this case.

Had the woman's caregivers or the health minister followed the legislation requiring an investigation, "it would have become clear very early on ... (the) communications were not the communications of (the woman) but were the communications of the facilitators," the decision says. "Someone needs to be punished here," the father says. "There were people who didn't do their jobs."

At least the disposition of the case is rational but who would want to live through this?

 

[marplots]

PEI = Prince Edward Island, Canada.

(I am facilitating your communication. )

 

[3point14]

I have never heard of 'facilitated communication'

A cursory glance would put it in the same category as 'Ouija Board'.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

I have never heard of 'facilitated communication'

A cursory glance would put it in the same category as 'Ouija Board'.

All Proper Skeptics should know about it -- Facilitated_communication^WP.

 

[Davidm]

I have never heard of 'facilitated communication'

A cursory glance would put it in the same category as 'Ouija Board'.

That's exactly right. It's nonsense that has caused legal nightmares for many families due to bogus abuse accusations.

 

[benbradley]

The PBS Frontline episode on FC was broadcast over 20 years ago. There's a transcript of it online, but the video is more compelling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzCGux7qD1c

 

[marplots]

The PBS Frontline episode on FC was broadcast over 20 years ago. There's a transcript of it online, but the video is more compelling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzCGux7qD1c

And a more modern (2015) version: http://www.therecord.com/news-story...arn-to-communicate-with-special-letter-board/

Called the rapid prompting method, it was developed by a mother in India for her son with severe autism. While Bailey said there is little in the way of scientific studies to back up this technique, she sees it working every day.

"I think it's hard for people to believe this is even possible," Bailey said. "It takes a leap of faith at the beginning."

 

[Davidm]

Here's an article published in 2015. It's a glowing article about a new technique using letter boards to help autistic children communicate. People keep re-"inventing" this nonsense!
http://www.therecord.com/news-story...arn-to-communicate-with-special-letter-board/

 

[Pup]

That is just horrible. The arrest, I mean. But false hopes are horrible too.

If some health care worker claimed she or he could help my loved one communicate, my biggest fear would be that we'd stop trying to guess what the loved one really wanted to say and rely entirely on the aid's answers, thus silencing what little communication through body language, grunts or blinks that the loved one still had.

I'd have a board set up with colors that only the loved one could see, and wait for the facilitator to name them correctly without seeing them herself. So simple, and it would give such confidence.

Don't people want confidence their loved one is really communicating? I guess not. It's a grotesque game of puppetry.

Edited to add: my wife and I have code words, a la Houdini, for any kind of living or dead situation like this. We set it up after someone claimed my wife called me when I was in Alabama with a message, which didn't sound like what my wife would say. I went out in a limb and refused to believe and said my wife hadn't called and didn't act on the message. Got home, and my wife said she never called. Loved it. People are weird and lie for strange controlling reasons, but rather than rely on intuition to get it right next time, we're prepared.

 

[marplots]

The PBS Frontline episode on FC was broadcast over 20 years ago. There's a transcript of it online, but the video is more compelling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzCGux7qD1c

That piece is just as powerful now as then. The Syracuse University facilitated communication institute (mentioned in the 1993 show) is still around under a new name. It's part of the School of Education.

http://soe.syr.edu/centers_institutes/institute_communication_inclusion/default.aspx

 

[CORed]

I have never heard of 'facilitated communication'

A cursory glance would put it in the same category as 'Ouija Board'.

Pretty much, except an autistic or otherwise disabled child is being used as the Ouija Board.

 

[marting]

The scary thing is that the people manipulating the subject's responses are unaware they are doing so. They sincerely believe the subject is authoring the responses. The malpractice stems from whoever taught them this nonsense. They are the ones that should be made to account.

 

[marplots]

The scary thing is that the people manipulating the subject's responses are unaware they are doing so. They sincerely believe the subject is authoring the responses. The malpractice stems from whoever taught them this nonsense. They are the ones that should be made to account.

There might be a hidden benefit. In some situations, the facilitator may be a parent who gets interaction and hope from it. Yes, it's bogus, but when you see how thrilled some of these parents are, it's hard to just take it away.

I desperately want to connect with my kid, to believe I am helping them is some small way. Maybe there's a middle ground? Something that allows the parent some purposeful interaction without hurting the patient.

 

[fuelair]

PEI = Prince Edward Island, Canada.

(I am facilitating your communication. )

Anne of Green Gables fans know that!!!!!!!!!

 

[marting]

There might be a hidden benefit. In some situations, the facilitator may be a parent who gets interaction and hope from it. Yes, it's bogus, but when you see how thrilled some of these parents are, it's hard to just take it away.

I desperately want to connect with my kid, to believe I am helping them is some small way. Maybe there's a middle ground? Something that allows the parent some purposeful interaction without hurting the patient.

This is certainly a benefit, if bogus. I view it as much like religion. Some people derive great comfort from it. Personally, I prefer not to live in Neverland.

However, the side effects that come from people that fall for it are to start believing in things similar to that illustrated in the story. Religion, in spite of the solace some receive has had, and continues to have, caustic side effects.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Anne of Green Gables fans know that!!!!!!!!!

Ah. A kindred spirit!

 

[Minoosh]

I desperately want to connect with my kid, to believe I am helping them is some small way. Maybe there's a middle ground? Something that allows the parent some purposeful interaction without hurting the patient.

My friend's kid is nonverbal with low-function autism - if Landau-Kleffner is still autism - supposedly communicated he wanted a dog with FC through a school special-education aide. My friend got the dog and the son had no interest in it. Then the scam was exposed.

He's about 40 now, and the middle ground is observing him, learning his moods and needs, managing behavior and *signing* which works to communicate so he does have some awareness of - semiotics? IOW he communicates, but only in a narrow range. I remember when he could talk but after about 2 years old he became completely nonverbal. The FC false hope turned into a very bitter experience for his parents. They do connect, but not like this.

 

[fuelair]

Ah. A kindred spirit!

Saw the 1934 film starring Anne Shirley (and just found out it was not a coincidence - she changed (again) her name to Anne Shirley to coincide with the film's release). Note - I saw it on television in the 1950's I am not in my 90s for a good while!!! Found out there were books later!!!!!!

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Saw the 1934 film starring Anne Shirley (and just found out it was not a coincidence - she changed (again) her name to Anne Shirley to coincide with the film's release). Note - I saw it on television in the 1950's I am not in my 90s for a good while!!! Found out there were books later!!!!!!

See if you can find the original CBC TV series staring Megan Fellows. DO NOT under any circumstances see the recent remake. It had the depth of a piece of tissue paper.

 

[Armitage72]

I'd have a board set up with colors that only the loved one could see, and wait for the facilitator to name them correctly without seeing them herself. So simple, and it would give such confidence.

Don't people want confidence their loved one is really communicating? I guess not. It's a grotesque game of puppetry.

There was an episode of Law & Order in which they did exactly that during a trial. An autistic teen's mother was the one performing the FC and she genuinely believed that he was communicating with her. The attorney asked him to identify objects that his mother couldn't see.
Commenting on how upset the mother was afterward, Det. Briscoe said "What do you expect? She just learned she's spent the last five years talking to herself."