![Sample our Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing & Allied Health journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5944/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Medicine-Dentistry-Nursing-Allied-Health.jpg"})
Abstract
Facilitated Communication (FC) is a technique whereby individuals with disabilities and communication impairments allegedly select letters by typing on a keyboard while receiving physical support, emotional encouragement, and other communication supports from facilitators. The validity of FC stands or falls on the question of who is authoring the typed messages – the individual with a disability or the facilitator. The International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) formed an Ad Hoc Committee on FC and charged this committee to synthesize the evidence base related to this question in order to develop a position statement. The purpose of this paper is to report this synthesis of the extant peer-reviewed literature on the question of authorship in FC. A multi-faceted search was conducted including electronic database searches, ancestry searches, and contacting selected authors. The authors considered synopses of systematic reviews, and systematic reviews, which were supplemented with individual studies not included in any prior reviews. Additionally, documents submitted by the membership were screened for inclusion. The evidence was classified into articles that provided (a) quantitative experimental data related to the authorship of messages, (b) quantitative descriptive data on the output generated through FC without testing of authorship, (c) qualitative descriptive data on the output generated via FC without testing of authorship, and (d) anecdotal reports in which writers shared their perspectives on FC. Only documents with quantitative experimental data were analyzed for authorship. Results indicated unequivocal evidence for facilitator control: messages generated through FC are authored by the facilitators rather than the individuals with disabilities. Hence, FC is a technique that has no validity.
Author Note
The authors would like to thank and acknowledge the members of the AdHoc Committee who served the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) and its membership for part or all of the process and provided valuable input to the review and development of the position statement (CitationISAAC, 2014). We are also grateful to Janice Bedrosian, Howard Shane, and Jeff Sigafoos who served as external readers to the review and position statement prior to its release to the membership for consultation. In addition, the authors would like to thank all of the members of ISAAC who submitted additional materials, and ISAAC Chapter Presidents and Representatives to the ISAAC Council who provided written feedback from members to the Executive Board prior to its adoption at the ISAAC Council Meeting on 20 July 2014. The collaborative efforts of all of these individuals served to enhance the rigor and consultation with which this statement was developed and are greatly appreciated. Finally, we would like to thank Hannah Sheets of Northeastern University who served as a Research Assistant.
Notes
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
Notes
1. Bronwyn Hemsley served on the Committee as originally constituted. She excused herself after joining the ISAAC Executive Committee and becoming President Elect. Susan Balandin, who had originally been asked to serve as an outside reviewer, replaced Bronwyn on the Committee as of March 11, 2013. Bober, Allmuth resigned from the committee, effective March 9, 2014. In addition to the committee, a group of outside peer reviewers was constituted to serve as readers of draft statements and reports. The following individuals served in this capacity: Balandin, Susan (Deakin University, Australia), Bedrosian, Janice (Western Michigan University, USA), Shane, Howard (Boston Children's Hospital, USA), and Sigafoos, Jeff (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand).
2. This paper was published in a peer-reviewed journal, but because it is an editorial it was not considered to have been peer-reviewed and was therefore excluded.
