Comments and a personal reflection on the persistence of facilitated communication

Abstract

In a recent article, Lilienfeld, Marshall, Todd, and Shane (2015) provided a detailed account of the history of facilitated communication (FC), the research demonstrating its lack of credibility as a communication technique, and the reasons FC continues to be used despite the lack of scientific evidence to support its use. This paper builds on the previous account by offering both a personal reflection and additional explanations for the persistence of misinformation about FC. Based on both cognitive and implementation science research, suggestions for how to construct and present refutations of FC are also included.

Keywords:

• Autism
• Facilitated communication
• Implementation science
• Personal reflection.

Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflicts of interests.