Jemma Leech/Facilitated Communication?

[New Jersey Alex]

The other day, on ABC News, they ran their "Person of the Week" item. This one was about a 10-year-old girl named Jemma Leech. She has cerebral palsy and can only communicate by tapping on a keyboard screen with a xylophone hammer. Her mother has to steady her arm so that she can type.

Here's the link://abcnews.go.com/WN/PersonOfWeek/story?id=4591478&page=1

Perhaps I'm being a bitter old crank, but all I can keep thinking is that this is a case of Facilitated Communication.

 

[MetalSeagull]

The video doesn't provide enough continuous footage of the writing process. They show too many close ups and cuts to really tell what's happening. They also don't say if anyone other than her mother helps her out with her writing.

It appears that she has athetoid CP, which is characterized by uncontrolled movement and low muscle tone. If all her mother is doing is providing a steadying hand at the elbow, then great. But, I don't know. It looked like Jemma wasn't looking at the screen during some of that, while her mother was. When she gets her eye-activated software, at least the question of whether she is doing the letter choosing will be answered.

The poetry does seem wise beyond her years. It makes me wonder if someone is making suggestions for phrasing or word choice.

 

[Foolmewunz]

I reacted just as the OP. I was going to post this here two days ago, because I got one of those "warm hug" chain mails from a fuzzy-wuzzy caring person in my office.... coverage in the Houston newspaper, 'cuz that's where the girl lives.

I questioned the poetry and construction, too. It's a lot less like a talented ten year old - more like a pretentious adult. I'd like to hear a long interview with the mom, as you'd be able to pick up some patterns. (If mom's a first form dropout who worked in a coal mine her whole life and has no vocabulary even close to the kid's it would certainly disprove FC....)

Right now, the jury's still out at my house, but I'm leaning towards "hugely skeptical" as my multiple choice selection.

 

[Showmeproof]

The video doesn't provide enough continuous footage of the writing process. They show too many close ups and cuts to really tell what's happening. They also don't say if anyone other than her mother helps her out with her writing.

It appears that she has athetoid CP, which is characterized by uncontrolled movement and low muscle tone. If all her mother is doing is providing a steadying hand at the elbow, then great. But, I don't know. It looked like Jemma wasn't looking at the screen during some of that, while her mother was. When she gets her eye-activated software, at least the question of whether she is doing the letter choosing will be answered.

The poetry does seem wise beyond her years. It makes me wonder if someone is making suggestions for phrasing or word choice.

"The poetry does seem wise beyond her years."

Well, whether or not she is actually writing these poems really has nothing to do with her age. There have been MANY child prodigies, as well as many idiot savants. Basically, it all comes down to whether she has the innate ability or gift to be writing such poetry, and how her environment might foster such a gift. Heck, a four year old can draw/paint/write some great pieces, but they obviously need innate talent. I definitely believe that in order to create great pieces of art (music, painting, sculpting, etc) one needs an inborn talent. No amount of practice in the world will create another Beethoven or Da Vinci without the appropriate inherent capabilities.

Granted, I was a child prodigy. At 9 years old, I finally learned how to get the peas in my mouth without spilling them all over the place

 

[Jeff Corey]

"The poetry does seem wise beyond her years."

Well, whether or not she is actually writing these poems really has nothing to do with her age. There have been MANY child prodigies, as well as many idiot savants. Basically, it all comes down whether she has the innate ability or gift to be writing such poetry. Age is not really a factor, especially if it is a child prodigy.

Granted, I was a child prodigy. At 9 years old, I finally learned how to get the peas in my mouth without spilling them all over the place

"I eat my peas with honey,
Done it all my life.
It makes the peas taste funny,
but it keeps them on my knife."
It actually comes down to who is writing. The puppet or puppeteer?

 

[Empress]

Link:
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/PersonOfWeek/Story?id=4591478&page=1

Looks like serious FC territory to me. I was going to say that everyone's going to be in for a rude awakening when she gets her new computer equipment, but I suspect that her parents will simply decide she can't control her eye movements well enough to work it. They'll go back to the FC, and I suppose they'll be happily deluded. Sad.

 

[MetalSeagull]

Well, whether or not she is actually writing these poems really has nothing to do with her age. There have been MANY child prodigies, as well as many idiot savants. Basically, it all comes down to whether she has the innate ability or gift to be writing such poetry, and how her environment might foster such a gift.

I agree it's possible she's very talented. I think your comment about environment is key. Most child prodigies could seek out information on their own, but this particular child is dependant on her parents and teachers to read to her, show her movies, etc.

I doubt vocabulary of the level she uses in her poems would come from her school. It would be way over grade level. ("But my breath is the libretto, with such glorious poetry and anarchic rhyme..." "Perhaps only time will tell whether my Mozartian productivity is kept for posterity or binned by a future archivist." both taken from this essay http://journals.aol.com/jevanslink/...obiography-by-jemma-leech-when-she-was-8/2869 )

Maybe, but I have significant doubts.


Edited because I missed perhaps the most telling line in the essay: "How can you, they say in hushed tones, read, write and think like normal people do? Surely that mother of yours is just making it up and should stop telling fibs."

 

[Foolmewunz]

I just read through all the comments on the ABC News page. Healthy number of skeptics chiming in... larger number of warm-and-fuzzies, though.

In one comment, however, someone claiming to have been one of her facilitators back in the UK when she lived there says that she was able to communicate responses to questions the facilitators didn't see. This could be a BS post, could be confirmation bias, could be true... It's an "anonymous poster on the internet claiming to be the voice of authority" thing.

At minimum, ABC News owes its public a follow up on this. If someone gave a writing award to a little girl whose mother wrote the essay, then they've cheated the other 1600 entrants. More important, though, is that surely a news organization should have a producer, editor, or fact-checker who would know how controversial FC is.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

I just read through all the comments on the ABC News page. Healthy number of skeptics chiming in... larger number of warm-and-fuzzies, though.

In one comment, however, someone claiming to have been one of her facilitators back in the UK when she lived there says that she was able to communicate responses to questions the facilitators didn't see. This could be a BS post, could be confirmation bias, could be true... It's an "anonymous poster on the internet claiming to be the voice of authority" thing.

At minimum, ABC News owes its public a follow up on this. If someone gave a writing award to a little girl whose mother wrote the essay, then they've cheated the other 1600 entrants. More important, though, is that surely a news organization should have a producer, editor, or fact-checker who would know how controversial FC is.

Fact Checker? The last Fact Checker in the Western World retired in 1978.

 

[SezMe]

It appears that she has athetoid CP, which is characterized by uncontrolled movement and low muscle tone. If all her mother is doing is providing a steadying hand at the elbow, then great.

But that is clearly not happening. Her mom holds on to her hand. And if her disease is partly manifest by uncontrolled movement, then would she be able to hit those little letter squares in any reliable way at all? I don't think so.

 

[SezMe]

Perhaps I'm being a bitter old crank, but all I can keep thinking is that this is a case of Facilitated Communication.

Welcome to the fora, New Jersey Alex. We don't have nearly enough bitter old cranks around this joint so your presence is a welcome addition.

 

[Foolmewunz]

Good catch, SezME... I hadn't notice this was a virgin post.

NJ Alex.... And you trumped me, 'cuz I did want to start this thread. (And I believe I'm the "crusty old cynical skeptic" 'round these parts, so I guess you can have "bitter old crank" if you like.) You might want to drop into the Welcome thread. Introduce yourself and meet some of the Welcome Wagon team.

Back on thread....

It seems ABC News covered Jemma two and a half years ago.
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=4593354&page=1

Sorry - it's too much. Purportedly written at age 8. When she also was supposed to have written her "autobiography". If it takes her ten minutes to write a one-line answer to a question by the reporters in freestyle, how long to write seventy lines in rhyme and with metre as in the Night Before Christmas/Scrooge item? And this was supposed to have been written around the same time as the autobiography? Are there that many hours in a day? She's in school, after all....

I can't help but see a "stage mother" or "cheerleader mom", here. Pushing entries into competitions and all the conflation... I'd sure like to retire from the ranks of curmudgeon one day, but this ain't helping!

 

[Showmeproof]

"I eat my peas with honey,
Done it all my life.
It makes the peas taste funny,
but it keeps them on my knife."
It actually comes down to who is writing. The puppet or puppeteer?

Ya know, I could of used that trick when i was 9

 

[Showmeproof]

I agree it's possible she's very talented. I think your comment about environment is key. Most child prodigies could seek out information on their own, but this particular child is dependant on her parents and teachers to read to her, show her movies, etc.

I doubt vocabulary of the level she uses in her poems would come from her school. It would be way over grade level. ("But my breath is the libretto, with such glorious poetry and anarchic rhyme..." "Perhaps only time will tell whether my Mozartian productivity is kept for posterity or binned by a future archivist." both taken from this essay http://journals.aol.com/jevanslink/...obiography-by-jemma-leech-when-she-was-8/2869 )

Maybe, but I have significant doubts.


Edited because I missed perhaps the most telling line in the essay: "How can you, they say in hushed tones, read, write and think like normal people do? Surely that mother of yours is just making it up and should stop telling fibs."

Perhaps the vocabulary is way above her grade level, but Einstein finished Euclidian Geometry on his own at age 11 and Beethoven/Mozart(forgot which one, unless its both) were creating extraordinary piece at such a young age. Most people do not have the capacity to take on such feats, but obviously a select few do have that capacity. Perhaps this girl was reading at a very young age and acquired a wide range of vocabulary :::shrugs::...Granted, I am not saying that because of this analogy that means she is writing the above poetry. What I am saying is that many young people have exceeded what was to be expected by someone of their age.

 

[sophia8]

"I remember in London the winters were warm and wet. No snow or ice, just rainy gumboot-puddled walks in Brockwell Park, while the summer-packed paddling pool filled of its own accord with rainwater, autumn leaves and rainbows of crisp bags. We disappeared in the secret garden underneath palisades of sleeping creeping clematis and wisteria, swapping dry dark with the wet light as we trailed the paving maze to the fishpond at its heart."

She left London when she was five, yet she's supposed to be recalling all that from her own memory? And who was the one wearing the gumboots? Not her, I'll bet. And if she can really remember somebody 'puddling' in gumboots (why doesn't she call them wellies?), why doesn't she mention her wheelchair (or whatever it was she was riding in) splashing through the puddles?
And no nine-year old would write a line about being "stripped naked", even if she was writing metaphorically. At that age, that's right down there with "bum" and "pee-pee" in snigger-giggle-don't-let-Mum-hear territory.

 

[sophia8]

Perhaps the vocabulary is way above her grade level, but Einstein finished Euclidian Geometry on his own at age 11 and Beethoven/Mozart(forgot which one, unless its both) were creating extraordinary piece at such a young age.

But geometry is mathematics - pure logic - and you could probably say that music is pure logic as well.
Creative writing is a whole different game - you have to pin down complex emotions and concepts in concrete words. You can read as much as you like, be as clever as you want at constructing sentences, have a huge vocabulary. But where do you get the background for these concepts and emotions as such a young age, the ability to construct the right words, the right sentences to convey emotions that adults can feel with, empaphise with?
If you can find a child prodigy who wrote like Leech at an equally early age, be my guest and give a link.
It's telling, btw, that virtually all child prodigies excel at maths. Maths doesn't need fuzzy mixed-up grown-up stuff like emotions and feelings.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I just read through all the comments on the ABC News page. Healthy number of skeptics chiming in... larger number of warm-and-fuzzies, though.

In one comment, however, someone claiming to have been one of her facilitators back in the UK when she lived there says that she was able to communicate responses to questions the facilitators didn't see. This could be a BS post, could be confirmation bias, could be true... It's an "anonymous poster on the internet claiming to be the voice of authority" thing.

At minimum, ABC News owes its public a follow up on this. If someone gave a writing award to a little girl whose mother wrote the essay, then they've cheated the other 1600 entrants. More important, though, is that surely a news organization should have a producer, editor, or fact-checker who would know how controversial FC is.

Considering the PM I sent you before reading this, you have an interesting comment here.

When the first reported FC occurred, I investigated it at that time and found it to be unquestionable woo. If a person can hit letters on a keyboard with a hand or arm assisting them, they should be able to do the same with a mechanical device. That has yet to materialize.

And there is such an easy test that I've not seen done. Tell the kids to say something and don't tell the facilitator what it is and see what gets written. Show me that research and I'll change my conclusion. Have you seen any of these people do this? Wonder why?

The parents and other adults helping these kids are writing what they hoped the kids would be saying. Sadly, it's desperate wishful thinking. There is no doubt many children, especially people with cerebral palsy, are intelligent and often cannot communicate that fact. And those kids can easily be misjudged as brain damaged. We know they are intelligent because some can communicate with the assistance of a number of devices that do work. But the facilitated communication is still woo.

Think I'll see what I can find to confirm these other facilitator claims.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Fascinating, the world so wants to believe in fairy tales.

10+ pages all sharing this story and one other equally incredible claim that she wrote some short autobiography in 06 at age 8. Nothing found when I looked for facilitated communication and Jemme Leech except this forum thread, and one entry in another forum thread as a side issue.

This is going to turn out badly. All this attention will get others looking into it. The truth will come out and the contests this girl has supposedly won will be questioned. Some other kids deserve the awards they didn't get competing with this parent. And no doubt the parents will hold fast to their convictions and blame the skeptical community for discriminating against their daughter.

Is that enough detail in my clairvoyant prediction to apply for the million?

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

NJ Alex. You look to fit right in.

 

[Showmeproof]

But geometry is mathematics - pure logic - and you could probably say that music is pure logic as well.
Creative writing is a whole different game - you have to pin down complex emotions and concepts in concrete words. You can read as much as you like, be as clever as you want at constructing sentences, have a huge vocabulary. But where do you get the background for these concepts and emotions as such a young age, the ability to construct the right words, the right sentences to convey emotions that adults can feel with, empaphise with?
If you can find a child prodigy who wrote like Leech at an equally early age, be my guest and give a link.
It's telling, btw, that virtually all child prodigies excel at maths. Maths doesn't need fuzzy mixed-up grown-up stuff like emotions and feelings.

Good point about the math, not so sure I agree 100% about the music though.