Hi Colin & list:
I'm for any assitive communication technology that is effective for the
indivudual concerned. I have also seen the technique called facilitaed
communication work well. It's all about how and why it is done.
You are probably aware that some well-conceived experiments to test the
validity of some FC practitioners found that the assistant was typing
their own responses to questions, not those of the person they were
supposedly supporting. This is unacceptable--it's using a non-verbal
person's hand like a Ouiji board, or using them like a ventriloquist's
dummy.
Some FC practioners also hold quite pernicious beliefs about autism,
although these ideas are not universally accepted (including such
things as people with autism have special psychic powers, people with
autism are all secretly of superior intelligence, or people with autism
are deliberately non-verbal due to abuse--shades of Bettelheim, eh?)I
don't see these beliefs as respectful of the personhood of the people
they are supposed to be working for. But again, there are some
excellent personal assistants who use FC or similar techniques in a
proper way. The goal should be for the person to learn to communicate
independantly as much as possible.
Mitzi
----- Original Message -----
From: Colin REvell <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, September 8, 2006 2:59 pm
Subject: Re: Mad, Bad, LD's, AD(H)D, ASD's/ND's, Gifted, or an 'Indigo-
Child/Adult'?
> Mitzi and others
>
> Are you against Facilitated Communication (FC) for ASD's/ND people
> and
> otther disabled people who need it too?
>
> IF No, what are all your concerns, because FC is encouraged and
> used within
> the inclusion movement?
>
> I have seen it in action, twice now, at the annual Inclusion
> Confernce in
> Blackpool organised by Jo Whittaker and Others, from the Bolton
> Inclusion
> Unit, University of Bolton and was very impressed how it had
> empowered many
> ASD's/ND children and adults to enable them to communicate in the
> world.
> Yours
>
> Colin R
>
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