An amazing day! Our son David was evaluated for FC and chose to type his first message ever to mom!
To the untrained eye it appears the facilitator is guiding David’s arm, but I was sitting on David’s left side and can ure anyone, this was all David’s doing.
Duration : 0:10:4
[youtube 5H5AF3URJf4]
Not enough science …
Not enough science here, only anecdotes and testimonial. Not sufficient evidence to subject my autistic daughter to the ordeal.
It seams that the …
It seams that the woman is guiding his hand
I bealive its caused by the idiomoter effect and the child is not responisible for the words he is typeing. I feel very sorry for your plight but I think its very well established that FC is false it has been tested not only with a blindfolded comunicator; but also by geting the child to read and type something that the comunicator did not see.
Please, if you are …
Please, if you are truly interested in FC, do your research it has proven to be an amazing gift not only to the parents/caregivers but also to the persons who have finally found a way to communicate. See Syracuse University Syracuse NY search Facilitated Communication.
No, she is applying …
No, she is applying resistance back from the keyboard. Your conception is a common misconception. David also types independently. The other day he typed “I have you under my thumb”. Certainly not something I would type or even think of.
The facilitator has …
The facilitator has to see the board as communication IS a TWO WAY PROCESS. It is not effective to hold the hand blindly mbc1963. Many people needing support may have poor muscle control and the facilitator may have to hold back or resist involuntary movement. Blocking communication by hiding the board is often viewed as a testing by the individual. He/she will fail in most cases as this is whats expected.
Arm support on …
Arm support on occasions involves holding back a persons arm response. This alows the person to get some control prior to selection on the keyboard. I suspect this what Davids Mum is doing to offer him the support he needs. I am in the process of filming this process with my own son who needs a very firm approach. On many occasions I need to hold him back until he is ready. Pretty hard to do when the persons muscles inadvertently are fighting his intent to hit the right key.
You can see the …
You can see the tendons flex and relax in her forearm as she is moving his arm.
Thank you so much …
Thank you so much for your story & faith! FC has given so many without a auditory voice a way to communicate!
Yes I thought it …
Yes I thought it was Rosie at first. Until she turned slightly. Rosie Cros I ume you mean. Know her and Annie well. David does look cool and relaxed.
Love the quote …
Love the quote Davids Mum. ‘There just are no boundaries unless we create them.’ Have been saying this for years and its worked for our family also.
I am with you. …
I am with you. Having used facilitation with my son over the past 20+ years there is no question it works. I have had much success using the same strategies to enable him to paint and create great artworks. He uses the poetry he writes to create themes for his paintings that blow me away. I use firm support to ist him to hold the brush and ensure he is in control before he starts. Doug Biklen from Syracuse Uni visited us in Australia many years ago. Great guy with vision and qualifications.
Dunkeybunker does …
Dunkeybunker does not get it. I thought the young guy was focused considering the personal effort he had to put in to type out ONLY twelve words. It took 9.57 minutes to achieve this and that’s not unusual when you are facilitating communicate. If his Mum was just moving his arm he would have finished well under this time with 12 words. I can attest to the success of facilitation through my son. Started at a training centre and completed year 12 in a regular state school using facilitation.
One family I know …
One family I know whos son is 14 yrs old was devastated that they would not let their child even try FC because of what “others” had said about it. Fortunately for them, their son was determined to use FC.. He began in Oct of 2008 and by March 2009 gave a speech that even his parent didn’t hear until that night.
This boy (my son) …
This boy (my son) has been using FC for over a year. He types on his own as well. He is now considered verbal since beginning FC. I his mom can attest that she was not moving his arm as I was right next to him the entire time. He has also shared through FC with his aide and FC teacher things neither could have known about us or him. I wish for the sake of our children, people who haven’t witnessed FC in action or actually Facilitated with a child would not say the things you have.
It seems very …
It seems very obvious to me that she is moving his arm. There was a very good test of this conducted years ago that proved it is not what it seems. The child and the facilitator were shown separate screens and asked to type what they saw. When shown different pictures the answer was always what the facilitator saw. 100% of the time. Parents were devastated because they really believed it was real. This boy is not even interested.
The truth is David …
The truth is David is now able to type independently 80% of the time. No facilitator. Please take the time to research thoroughly before you pass judgment. My son also uses a letter board completely independently. We (parents were also skeptical until we became our children’s facilitators and saw ourselves) They also share things that the Facilitator has no way of knowing.
I feel for the …
I feel for the parents of autistic children, who want desperately for their children to be able to communicate.
However, the very valid question keeps being asked and not answered: Why does this not work if the facilitator can’t see the keyboard?
The truth is the truth – and if this FC really works, then it should work if the facilitator doesn’t see what she is typing.
MBC
Thank you for your …
Thank you for your comment & thank you for recognizing the peripheral vision! So many doubt this way of communication which is sad as these children have so much to say and so much to teach us! FC with 3 boys is quite an accomplishment, you are truly an angel!
hi there we are …
hi there we are from manchester and i work with three boys who use facilitated communication by the way is that rosie in the vid ,davids using periferal vision for all those that question,well done david you look cool typin dude
Not when your …
Not when your vision is like a chameleon as David’s is. Most autistic children have vision that is unlike ours. It’s one reason fluorescent lights hurt their eyes.
your not looking. …
your not looking. it is the same as doing it with your eyes closed.
but how does seeing …
but how does seeing in 2d allow him to type without looking at the thing and not setting his fingers on the home keys?
David is …
David is academically between the 4th & 6th grade levels and he is 9. I can understand why there is controversy although I cannot understand why the parents testimony is being questioned.
Last week David’s …
Last week David’s vision was tested. He is seeing in 2D unlike us who see 3D. We are doing exercises to try to correct this but it would completely enable him to type without looking at the keyboard. He also has an amazing memory. His IQ is well above average for his age & that is proven without the use of FC. He has also in the last 2 weeks begun to use his words more.
“He rarely looks at …
“He rarely looks at the keyboard when he types with me, his facilitator or independently”
there was also a test that took an expert typest however and had her try and type with one finger without looking.
she couldn’t do it. nobody can. without the home keys it is impossible to do that even with all the fingers. one finger just makes it harder.