Word: fc
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...imagine that facilitators with a close, loving relationship to the person using FC might inadvertently lead them by the hand and, in this sense, put words in their mouths. But at Syracuse, I became convinced that at least some FC is for real, and for someone with no other form of communication, it can be life-altering...
...What's so controversial about FC? A preponderance of studies have found that the ideas being expressed are not those of the person with autism but rather those of the facilitator. In several studies, only a small percentage of FC users were conclusively shown to be expressing independent thoughts. In some studies where the facilitator and FC user were separated, given different sets of information and then asked questions about it, it was facilitator's information that was more often expressed in typing, though the facilitators are often unaware that they are leading, says James Mulick, professor of pediatrics...
...What then to make of what I saw at Syracuse, which has an FC institute? "You are simply being deceived," says Mulick. "But don?t feel bad. Even some behavioral scientists have been deceived...
...Proponents of FC concede that when FC is done improperly, the facilitator can take over. They also say that people who are severely autistic respond poorly to the lab setting. And they point to examples like Burke and Rajapatirana, who are not held by the hand or wrist - though both did require that degree of support when they began using the technique...
...more insight into the controversy, I asked one of the FC users at the conference, Tracy Thresher of Vermont, if I might take a stab at facilitating. Thresher agreed, and an experienced facilitator named Harvey Lavoy coached me. I held Thresher?s wrist as he typed answers to my questions. I found that I had to constantly pull his hand back away from the keyboard with a steady pressure. At no point did I feel that I was leading him toward the keys, nor did I know the answers to the questions I was asking him. He answered some clearly...