Facilitated communication (FC), or supported typing, is a scientifically discredited technique, 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.
Diagnoses of autism have become more frequent since the 1980s, which has led to various controversies about both the cause of autism and the nature of the diagnoses themselves. Whether autism has mainly a genetic or developmental cause, and the degree of coincidence between autism and intellectual disability, are all matters of current scientific controversy as well as inquiry. There is also more sociopolitical debate as to whether autism should be considered a disability on its own.
The autism rights movement, also known as the autistic acceptance movement, is a social movement allied with disability rights that emphasizes the neurodiversity paradigm, viewing autism as a set of naturally-occuring variations in human cognition rather than as a disease to be cured or a disorder to be treated. The movement aligns itself with broader disability rights and uses a human rights framework. Central to most human rights frameworks is a belief that the relevant community, in this instance the autistic community, should be able to self-determine who is in that community, what language should be used in discussing the community, and should be seen as the primary voice whenever discussions of interest to the community are held. One of the common mottos used, which was borrowed from the disability rights movement is the phrase "nothing about us without us."
Douglas Paul Biklen is an American educator, fine art photographer, leading proponent of facilitated communication, a scientifically discredited technique which purports to allow non-verbal people to communicate; and an advocate of educational inclusion. A graduate of Bowdoin College, Biklen joined Syracuse University in 1969 and completed his doctorate there in 1973. He was controversially appointed Dean of the Syracuse University School of Education in 2005 and retired in 2014. Biklen has authored and co-authored several books and served on production teams for several documentary films, including 2004's Autism Is a World.
Mel Baggs, was an American non-binary blogger who predominantly wrote on the subject of autism and disability. At times, Baggs used a communication device to speak and referred to themself as a low-functioning autistic. Revelations about Baggs's past created some uncertainty about their diagnosis.
Autistic art is artwork created by autistic artists that captures or conveys a variety of autistic experiences. According to a 2021 article in Cognitive Processing, autistic artists with improved linguistic and communication skills often show a greater degree of originality and attention to detail than their neurotypical counterparts, with a positive correlation between artistic talent and high linguistic functioning. Autistic art is often considered outsider art. Art by autistic artists has long been shown in separate venues from artists without disabilities. The works of some autistic artists have featured in art publications and documentaries and been exhibited in mainstream galleries. Although autistic artists seldom received formal art education in the past, recent inclusivity initiatives have made it easier for autistic artists to get a formal college education. The Aspergers/Autism Network's AANE Artist Collaborative is an example of an art organization for autistic adults.
Wretches & Jabberers is a 2010 American documentary film directed by Gerardine Wurzburg and produced by Wurzburg and Douglas Biklen.The film is about two autistic men, Larry Bissonnette and Tracy Thresher, who travel the world helping other autistic people break out of their isolation. It opened in theaters in New York and California on July 30, 2010. Notably, the men use facilitated communication to communicate, which is a scientifically discredited technique.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) or autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) describe a range of conditions classified as neurodevelopmental disorders in the DSM-5, used by the American Psychiatric Association. As with many neurodivergent people and conditions, the popular image of autistic people and autism itself is often based on inaccurate media representations. Additionally, media about autism may promote pseudoscience such as vaccine denial or facilitated communication.
The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism is a biography attributed to Naoki Higashida, a nonverbal autistic person from Japan. It was first published in Japan in 2007. The English translation, by Keiko Yoshida and her husband, English author David Mitchell, was published in 2013.
Scott O. Lilienfeld was a professor of psychology at Emory University and advocate for evidence-based treatments and methods within the field. He is known for his books 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology, Brainwashed, and others that explore and sometimes debunk psychological claims that appear in the popular press. Along with having his work featured in major U.S. newspapers and journals such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Scientific American, Lilienfeld made television appearances on 20/20, CNN and the CBS Evening News.
Howard C. Shane is director of the Autism Language Program and Communication Enhancement Program at Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, former director of the Institute on Applied Technology, and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. He is internationally known for his research and development of augmented and alternative communication systems to support the communication needs of people with neuromuscular disorders, autism and other disabilities.
Discrimination against autistic people, also known as Autistiphobia, involves any form of discrimination, persecution, or oppression against people who are autistic. Despite autism not being a disability, discrimination against autistic people is considered to be a form of ableism.
The rapid prompting method (RPM) is a pseudoscientific technique that attempts to aid people with autism or other disabilities to communicate through pointing, typing, or writing. Also known as Spelling to Communicate, it is closely related to the scientifically discredited technique facilitated communication (FC). Practitioners of RPM have failed to assess the issue of message agency using simple and direct scientific methodologies, saying that doing so would be stigmatizing and that allowing scientific criticisms of the technique robs people with autism of their right to communicate. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has issued a statement opposing the practice of RPM.
Deej is a 2017 documentary about David James (DJ) Savarese, a nonspeaking autistic teenager who communicates with a voice synthesizer. The film has been criticized as using the scientifically discredited facilitated communication technique; however, it has been pointed out that Deej actually used augmentative and alternative communication, a technique that does work but is often mistaken for facilitated communication.
Loving Lampposts is a 2010 documentary film directed by Todd Drezner, exploring the neurodiversity movement and the principle of autism acceptance through a series of interviews and candid footage. Drezner is the father of an autistic child whose attachment to and fascination with lampposts gave the film its title.
Larry John Bissonnette is an American autistic artist who starred in two films showcasing his art and travels. 2005 in My Classic Life as an Artist and in 2011 Wretches & Jabberers. Both films have been criticized by the science community for claiming that Bissonnette can communicate through the discredited pseudoscience facilitated communication.
Soma Mukhopadhyay is credited with creating rapid prompting method, a pseudoscientific technique that attempts to aid people with autism or other disabilities to communicate through pointing, typing, or writing. It is also known as RPM and Spelling to Communicate.
Stuart Vyse is an American psychologist, teacher, speaker and author who specializes in belief in superstitions and critical thinking. He is frequently invited as a speaker and interviewed by the media as an expert on superstitious behavior. His book Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition won the American Psychological Association's William James Book Award.
