Facilitator Control in the Movie "Influence" | Facilitated Communication | Rapid Prompting Method
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- Опубліковано 19 лип 2023
- Requested by viewers (thank you!), this critique of the movie "Influence" is educational video is intended to draw attention to facilitator cuing in a technique called "Facilitated Communication" (FC). FC is known by a variety of names, including Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) and Spelling to Communicate (S2C).
The movie, written and directed by Michael Bergmann, attempts to legitimize FC use despite the fact that FC has been discredited and reliably controlled tests show that the facilitators, and not their clients, are authoring the messages.
Organizations such as the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) oppose the use of FC/S2C/RPM, citing lack of scientific evidence, facilitator control, prompt dependency, and other potential harms (including false allegations of abuse).
Part of the reason the letter board moves in the air is because of the ideomotor response, or small often non-conscious muscle movements. Most facilitators are unaware of the extent to which this aids in letter selection. They move the board up and down, backwards and forwards to position it near what they believe is the target letter. It's a well-documented phenomenon sometimes called the "Ouija board effect," because of its association with using a planchette on an Ouija board, dowsing, and automatic writing. More information about FC and the ideomotor response can be found at this link: www.facilitatedcommunication....
Information about controlled studies, systematic reviews, critiques of FC, organizations opposing FC/S2C/RPM, and more, please visit our website at www.facilitatedcommunication.org
How do you explain the speller's who are now typing autonomously with their keyboard in a cradle. And those who are graduating from top universities using letterboards and keyboards as their main form of communication.
There are plenty of anecdotes and testimonials regarding independent communication, but no reliably controlled studies to back up this claim. Cueing can and does occur even without physical touch. When facilitators control access to the letter board and/or hold it in the air, they are susceptible to facilitator cueing, even when they are unaware of the extent to which this occurs. FMI, please check out our website at www.facilitatedcommunication.org
OMG the father son on the couch! NO WAY - how delusional is that father to think his son is doing anything other than hold a pencil in his hand while his father moves it? What is going on there, you can't not see that!
And Janyce I was thinking the same thing, if FC works so well, why didn't they hire people who had used FC in the past but were now independent typers? That was just not right!
Dan Bergmann went on to graduate from Harvard Extension School with his father as the facilitator.
They literally show the parents influencing the message of their children and yet still come to the conclusion that FC is valid. Also Francis' mother saying "I don't feel you as autistic" seems so...wrong. Like I know it's meant to be positive in a "you are so much more than just your disability" kind of way but it's worded in a way that makes it feel like straight-up denial of the fact that her son is autistic.
Great observations. I find this movie cringe-worthy on so many different levels.
Stolen Voices. Body language replaced by a lie…
I wonder why don’t you feature those who once used fc but continued to be independently typing at the end, huh? Not too good for making your dogmatic point I bet 🙄
To date, there are no reliably controlled studies showing independent typing on the part of individuals using FC/S2C/RPM, though there are anecdotes and testimonials claiming this to be true. Independent typing means that the facilitator does not have to hover over their client, hold the letter board in the air, or provide visual, auditory, or physical cues during letter selection. If I've missed reliably controlled studies that demonstrate a lack of facilitator influence and control, please share a link. I'm more than happy to review the information.