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Facilitated communication with children diagnosed as autistic in public school settings
Author(s) -
Myles Brenda Smith,
Simpson Richard L.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
psychology in the schools
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1520-6807
pISSN - 0033-3085
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6807(199407)31:3<208::aid-pits2310310306>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - autism , psychology , augmentative and alternative communication , developmental psychology , social communication , communication skills , interpersonal communication , medical education , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine
In spite of claims that facilitated communication is a unique and effective communication option for individuals with autism, validity of this method has not been established. The present study focused on evaluating the effectiveness of facilitated communication with elementary‐age children with autism. Ten public school children and their teachers, who served as facilitators, were involved in this 15‐week facilitated communication validation study. Several subjects revealed ability to complete simple responses to requests and questions to which the facilitators knew the answers. However, little success was shown by subjects in answering questions to which the facilitators lacked answers, or in communicating via an augmentative communication device. Results of the study are discussed, along with implications for future use of facilitated communication with children with autism.