Definition
Facilitated Communication (FC) is a discredited technique used by some caregivers and educators in an attempt to assist people with severe educational and communication disabilities. The “facilitator” guides the disabled person’s hand or arm to type on a keyboard or point to letters.
Why It Matters
The failure to debunk FC earlier resulted in decades of lost time for disabled individuals and traumatic false accusations against innocent families. It serves as a stark warning about the danger of “compassion-driven” pseudoscience, where the desire to give someone a voice leads to the accidental silencing of their actual needs in favor of the facilitator’s subconscious projections.
Core Concepts
- The Ideomotor Effect: The facilitator is often unknowingly moving the person’s hand, similar to a Ouija board.
- Controlled Testing: Scientific studies consistently show that the communication is produced by the facilitator, not the disabled individual.
- Ethical Implications: Using FC can lead to false accusations of abuse or the denial of genuine communication tools.