Facilitated communication

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Facilitated communication (FC), or supported typing, is a scientifically discredited technique,^[1] which claims to allow non-verbal people, such as those with autism, to communicate. The technique involves a facilitator guiding the disabled person's arm or hand in an attempt to help them type on a keyboard or other such device which they are unable to properly use if unfacilitated.^[2]

There is widespread agreement within the scientific community and among disability advocacy organizations that FC is a pseudoscience.^[3] Research indicates that the facilitator is the source of the messages obtained through FC, rather than the disabled person. The facilitator may believe they are not the source of the messages due to the ideomotor effect, which is the same effect that guides a Ouija board.^[4][5] Studies have consistently found that FC is unable to provide the correct response to even simple questions when the facilitator does not know the answers to the questions (e.g., showing the patient but not the facilitator an object).^[6] In addition, in numerous cases disabled persons have been assumed by facilitators to be typing a coherent message while the patient's eyes were closed or while they were looking away from or showing no particular interest in the letter board.^[7]

Facilitated communication has been called "the single most scientifically discredited intervention in all of developmental disabilities".^[8] Some promoters of the technique have claimed that FC cannot be clearly disproven because a testing environment might cause the subject to lose confidence.^[9] 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.^[3] There have been a large number of false abuse allegations made through facilitated communication.