Facilitated Communication




Facilitated Communication Training is a method that supports physically, emotionally and communicatively in order to achieve a means of expression. It usually is used with a letter board or keyboard, but can also involve pointing to objects, pictures, and whole words as well.

An assessment for facilitated communication is the best way to answer the question of whether or not the method is beneficial for someone in your care. As with other methods, the assessment for facilitated communication explores the effectiveness of current communication strategies and tries to determine what next steps are important for the further development of communication. There is no ‘test’ that the person has to pass. Rather, it is a time to engage the child or adult and offer a variety of supports that invite communication.

People on the autism spectrum who are non-verbal have a similar experience to victims of stroke. For some of them, they have simply lost the mind-muscle connection that allows them to communicate. They have not lost their intellect or their desire to communicate. Many stroke victims who can no longer speak are able to access their voices by singing. The FC voice is the reached-for verbal voice for many people with autism. Although it does not apply to everyone, just as not every stroke survivor sings, it can allow many the ability to communicate.

Facts about FC –

from Douglas Biklen (Dean of the School of Education, Syracuse University. He is also Professor of Cultural Foundations of Education and Teaching and Leadership, Faculty in Disability Studies and Director of the Facilitated Communication Institute at Syracuse University.)

  • FC should never involve guiding a person as he or she attempts to point or type.
  • There is empirical research to support the validity of FC
  • Facilitators can inadvertently influence (i.e. cuing, leading) the communication of the person to whom they are giving support.
  • It is not necessary for facilitators to believe in the competence and the ability of the person with the disability in order to make FC work.
  • FC can be tested.
  • Some courts are now accepting testimony given through FC.
  • FC requires trained facilitators.
  • Parents and friends can learn to be good facilitators.
  • FC can be combined with other forms of expression.

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