Reply to MCPS wasting money on thoroughly debunked practices?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My DC's school has a program in Facilitated Communication (a method where a facilitator supports a non-verbal autistic student to type by supporting their hand as they access a keyboard).  I just read about this in Forbes (link below) and apparently it is totally debunked and scientists and psychologists think that it is ineffective and abusive. How is MCPS paying for this? DC says that these students are mainstreamed and get nothing done in class. Thoughts?

[url]https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2018/06/18/facilitated-communication-may-be-an-abuse-of-human-rights-why-is-a-university-teaching-it/#1884125a29f3[/url]
[/quote]

Huh.  I don't know much about this, but I have a friend who has posted on Facebook about the way facilitated communication has enabled her non-verbal autistic daughter to communicate (and has even posted some of her daughter's messages).  Didn't realize it was considered a hoax, and my friend is highly educated so not the type to fall for junk science.  [/quote]

I don't know much about this either, but Forbes isn't the best source of evidence on medical impact (or lack thereof). [/quote]

Well, below is a link to an article from the Atlantic. It mentions that the practice has been rejected by the American Psychological Association, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, The May Institute’s National Autism Center, The International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. It seems like the only credible institute that believes it works is Syracuse University’s Facilitated Communication Institute. The Atlantic author opines that the reason the practice still exists is because parents and educators “were taught these individuals were so oppressed that we weren’t supposed to doubt their communication; if we doubted FC, we’re doubting the person.”

So, if it's legit, I'm happy for your friend and her child, but I also hope your friend isn't being mislead.

[url]https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/07/a-controversial-method-for-autism-communication/491810/[/url][/quote]

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