Education and schooling
Preschool Literacy and Facilitated Communication
This article originally appeared in Vol. 2 No. 3 (May 1994) of the Facilitated Communication Digest, [pp. 13-15].
>My on-going research explores the phenomenon of young children engaging in the facilitated communication training method. One fundamental question orienting my qualitative studies asks: Is the preschool a place where literacy-based communication makes sense? In examining this question I have worked to shed my adult stereotypes and expectations of young people, and have followed a series of innovative researchers into the field of the preschool to analyze children's language and literacy (Rees & Gerber, 1992; Pellegrini & Galda, 1990; Teale & Sulzby, 1986; Strickland & Morrow, 1988). read more...
Inclusion: Three Encouraging Reports: Robin Smith
I gladly took on writing about three inclusion presentations from the May 1995 Syracuse facilitated communication conference. As I reviewed the tapes full of tales and hot tips, three themes emerged: 1. the necessity for open-mindedness and the ability to learn as you go; 2. the possibility that tomorrow's dependable allies may be needing our help to emerge, transformed, from deep inside today's adversaries; and 3. my very personal reaction of thoughts about inspiration-mongers and disability oppression. read more...
Literacy and Facilitated Communication Training: Rosemary Crossley
Reading is surrounded by a number of myths: 1. Reading is a skill that can only be acquired through formal teaching. 2. It is necessary to be able to talk before you can read. 3. Reading required higher intelligence than understanding speech. Facilitated communication training has helped to explode these myths, because it has enabled a number of individuals with severe communication impairments (SCI) to demonstrate previously unrecognized literacy skills, skills which have been acquired from incidental exposure to written language despite severe speech and hand writing impairments. read more...
Recommendations to Educators on the Validation of Facilitated Communication: Doug Biklen
Over the past several months the Institute has received letters and phone calls asking for advice on how to document (i.e. validate) students' facilitated communication. The inquiries often ask: "Is there a preferred methodology, test, or protocol for determining if a student is communicating? What does the Institute recommend?" read more...
"It's IEP Time Again..." Thoughts from a Consultant: Janet Duncan
As I write this, parents everywhere are getting ready for the annual meeting to discuss the academic accomplishments of their son or daughter, and to begin the planning process for the fall. [...] Last week I received a phone call from a parent I have known for the past five years. Her son Tom (a pseudonym) is a high school sophomore who uses facilitated communication. Things had been going relatively well for Tom until recently, when he experienced some difficulties in the community, and was dropped from an agency for his alleged misbehavior. In this article I will describe for you Tom's educational career to date, and highlight some of the issues his teachers have dealt with over the years. By no means is his story concluded; in fact, if anything, the battle for appropriate services has just begun. read more...
Students' Rights to Inclusion and to Facilitated Communication: Doug Biklen
Does a student with a disability have a right to learn to use facilitated communication in public school? If a student is using facilitated communication, does he or she have the right to attend regular classes with nondisabled peers? Related to these questions, can a school district terminate use of facilitated communication by a child who has been using it? read more...