Definition
Facilitated communication (FC) is an intervention for individuals with a disability that involves pointing to letters or other materials to communicate using the support of a partner. The supporting partner, or facilitator, may provide emotional, physical, or communicative support as needed by the person with a disability (“FC user”) to produce messages. Although FC can be used with different targets, messages are most often generated by typing on a keyboard.
Historical Background
Facilitated communication was first recognized in the 1970s in Australia with the work of Rosemary Crossley. Crossley began to use physical support to help individuals with significant communication and motor impairments to type (Biklen 1990). In 1990 Douglas Biklen published his experience with facilitated communication while at the Dignity through Education and Learning Communication (DEAL) Center in Australia. He shared his changed perspective about the assumptions of the cognitive abilities of...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References and Reading
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. (2019). Facilitated communication and rapid prompting method: Position statement of the AAIDD board of directors. https://www.aaidd.org/news-policy/policy/position-statements/facilitated-communication-and-rapid-prompting-method
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2018). Facilitated communication [Position statement]. www.asha.org/policy/
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). A number of organizations caution against use of FC and RPM. https://www.asha.org/SLP/Cautions-Against-Use-of-FC-and-RPM-Widely-Shared/
Biklen, D. (1990). Communication unbound: Autism and praxis. Harvard Educational Review, 60(3), 291–314. ProQuest Central.
Biklen, D., Winston Morton, M., Gold, D., Berrigan, C., & Swaminathan, S. (1992). Facilitated communication: Implications for individuals with autism. Topics in Language Disorders, 12(4), 1–28.
Crossley, R. (1994). Facilitated communication training. New York: Teachers College Press.
Cummins, R. A., & Prior, M. P. (1992). Autism and assisted communication: A response to Biklen. Harvard Educational Review, 62(2), 228–241. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.62.2.p86j205360177322.
Hemsley, B., Bryant, L., Schlosser, R. W., Shane, H. C., Lang, R., Paul, D., & Ireland, M. (2018a). Systematic review of facilitated communication 2014–2018 finds no new evidence that messages delivered using facilitated communication are authored by the person with disability. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments. https://doi.org/10.1177/2396941518821570.
Hemsley, B., Shane, H. C., Todd, J. T., Schlosser, R. W., & Lang, R. (2018b). It’s time to stop exposing people to the dangers of facilitated communication. https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-stop-exposing-people-to-the-dangers-of-facilitated-communication-95942
Institute on Community Inclusion. (2000). ICI training standards manual. Retrieved January 21, 2020, from Syracuse University’s website: https://ici.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Training_Standards_Manual.pdf
Institute on Community Inclusion. (n.d.). https://ici.syr.edu/
International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. (2014). ISAAC position statement on facilitated communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 30(4), 357–358. https://doi.org/10.3109/07434618.2014.971492.
Schlosser, R., Balandin, S., Hemsley, B., Iacono, T., Probst, P., & von Tetzchner, S. (2014). Facilitated communication and authorship: A systematic review. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 30(4), 359–368.
Singer, G., Horner, R., Dunlap, G., & Wang, M. (2015). Standards of proof: TASH, facilitated communication, and the science-based practices movement. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 39, 178–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796914558831.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Nevers, M. (2020). Facilitated Communication. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_773-3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_773-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences