Larry Bissonnette | |
---|---|
Born | 1957 (age 66–67) Winooski, Vermont, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Artist, Activist |
Larry John Bissonnette (born 1957 in Winooski, Vermont) 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.
Bissonnette is the son of Albert Bissonnette and his wife Alma Marie, née Bashaw. [1] He has three brothers and sisters. [1] At age two, he experienced a high fever, which might have caused some kind of damage to his nervous system. [2] By the time he was eight, he was sent to the Brandon Training School, which was Vermont's only institute for people with intellectual disabilities at the time. [2] [3] [4] During this time, he used techniques of art such as drawing and painting to help himself through self-expression. [2] By the time he was 18, he was transferred to Vermont Psychiatric Hospital in Waterbury, Vermont. [5] In 1991, Bissonnette was introduced to facilitated communication. [6] Although this was quickly discredited as a valid communication technique [6] ( Skeptical Inquirer claims that "it is clear that their facilitators are prompting them by touching an arm or shoulder as they type"), [7] Bissonnette and his therapists and facilitators continued to use it. [2] [6]
Bissonnette has created many works of art (over three hundred by 1990). [4] In 1989, he received an honorable mention from the Vermont Council on the Arts for his painting and sculpture. [8] Some of his works depict "faces peering through a veil, as if imprisoned". [4] Bissonnette's art is in the collection of the Musée de l'Art Brut in Switzerland.
In 2005, Larry starred in his biographical film, My Classic Life as an Artist: A Portrait of Larry Bissonnette. [9]
In 2011, Larry and his ally Tracy Thresher were in a documentary called Wretches & Jabberers , which documented his travels around the world. [10] [11] [12] The film has been criticized for claiming that Bissonnette and Thresher can communicate through facilitated communication. [13] [14]
In 2012, they were both featured in an episode of the National Geographic Taboo television series which was titled "Strange Behavior".[ citation needed ]
Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located 45 miles (72 km) south of the Canada–United States border and 95 miles (153 km) south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It is the least populous city in the 50 U.S. states to be the most populous city in its state.
Winooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located on the Winooski River, as of the 2020 U.S. census the municipal population was 7,997. The city is the most densely populated municipality in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is the smallest of Vermont's 10 cities by area, though the city of Vergennes has the smallest population. As part of the Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area, it is bordered by Burlington, Colchester, and South Burlington.
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.
Robert Theodore Stafford was an American politician from Vermont. In his lengthy political career, he served as the 71st governor of Vermont, a United States representative, and a U.S. Senator. A Republican, Stafford was generally considered a liberal, or "Rockefeller Republican".
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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.
The rapid prompting method (RPM) is a pseudoscientific technique that attempts to aid communication by 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.
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Clement Joseph Bissonnette is an American politician in the state of Vermont. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives, sitting as a Democrat from the Chittenden-6-7 district, representing Winooski and part of Burlington, Vermont. He was first elected in 2008.
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